Art of Making
I caught up the making virus from our engineers, and, jointly with a fellow parent, volunteered to teach an “Art of Making” seminar at my daughter’s school (my friend’s son came up with the title). Our hope was to bring STEM, art, and design thinking together. (I am supposed to represent art and design thinking, but secretly dream of learning some STEM along the way).
There are about thirty different seminars that students can choose from based on the seminar’s description. Ours was “Don’t take the world the way someone made it for you, make it what you want it to be. Be a maker! The world is full of opportunities for improvement, and everything is a tool. Hi-tech and low-tech. Paper and foil, 3D printers and code. Why, using tools is what made us human. Release your inner humanity by embracing your tool-using nature! In this seminar you’ll play with bunch of hi and low tech staff to make pretty flashy things from fashion to toys, and learn along the way.”
The seminar filled in to a maximum on a first day of signup. 100% boys.
I contracted my daughter to run an emergency promotional program for our “Art of Making” with the goal of bumping up girls’ enrollment. I felt that my daughter knows the best what’s appealing to that audience. And I was right! Her choice of message, channels, and timing was impeccable, and in four days the girls’ enrollment risen up to 50%!
That’s the teen power!
To be continued…