In this group project Jane, Victoria, Ally and I decided to create a lesson where students can craft their own practical or imaginative hat with moving parts. Each of us decided to create a different type of hat to show students four examples of hat structures and various ways to connect parts to the motors.
Jane chose to make a headband with spinning flowers, Ally chose to make a imaginative hat with dynamic sculptures that relate to the spinning parts on top, Victoria made a top hat with a carousal-like wheel on top, and I created an imaginative squid inspired head piece out of plastics. Each hat shows how the motor speed changes with the weight and orientation of materials on top. It also demonstrates how material quality can add to the type of hat you are creating.
For my project I started with the idea. I decided I wanted to focus on an underwater creature. I decided to collect translucent plastic materials as the building parts for my hat. I then experimented with different orientations of pieces until I found the right plastic material for the base of my hat. I decided on the egg cartons because they were bumpy in texture but could be taped together to form a hat-like shape. I then began decorating the egg cartons with see through plastic bags, cut into strips. I wanted to create tentacles and appendages that you would see on a squid or octopus.
After this, I moved onto figuring out where the motor should be located. We discussed how the motor on a child’s head could actually be a little dangerous. We definitely need to explain that motors need to be far away from hair and faces. I chose to create an extra structure to lift the motor higher on my hat, so I could avoid my hair.
I then experimented with different appendages attached to the motor. I wanted the long strings of plastic material to rotate in a large circle above my head. When tested they just got caught in the motor. Through a few more experiments, I found a bottle sliced in a spiral added a nice touch to the top of my hat.
I worked on making the circuit and switch so the hat could be easily turned on and off. One thing I struggled with was the connection of the motor, switch and batteries. After, I finished decorating my project, I went to switch it on and the connection was faulty. I had to go back in, and undo all of my decorative work. In the future, I would make sure I figured out a way to have easy access to the different connections of my circuit, even after everything was decorated nicely. It would then be a lot easier to troubleshoot.
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