In today’s post, leading up to #LightUpPopUpTober 2025, Educator/Artist/and Technologist Kristin Osiecki is sharing a helpful template, links to useful pop-up resources, and an example of a Sequence Slide Switch Pop-Up Mechanism in action.

In case you missed it, Kristin and the Chibitronics team recently hosted a webinar, Exploring Engineering Through the Arts, as part of the summer line-up of educational webinars sponsored by Infosys Foundation USA. 

During the event, Kristin shared her personal learning journey as she pursued interests in computer science and electrical and mechanical engineering through the arts. In addition to sharing examples of learning experiences that she designed, centering upon the arts in STEM learning experiences, she observed how it shaped her work as an educator—enticing a broader spectrum of students to explore computer science and engineering.  

One of the examples that she shared, a light-up pop-up card of Moo Deng created during PopUpTober 2024, led her to design an accessible, adaptable template that can be easily personalized!  

Read on to learn from Kristin Osiecki directly!

A winning combo for introducing pop-up mechanisms to your circuit experiments

The pop-up circuit I created for my recent Chibitronics webinar relies on a simple box fold, combined with a circuit inspired by the Sequence Slide Switch template.

Sequence Slide Switch Template

I chose a box fold because it’s a versatile fold that allows beginners to create a lot of depth. It can easily be adapted to a variety of different designs. Similarly, when making a circuit with the Sequence Slide Switch template, you can easily change the location of each LED, both vertically and horizontally.

1. Cut two vertical slots.
2. Reverse the fold between the slots.
3. Create your circuit using the Sequence Slide Switch template as a guide.
4. Apply your artwork on top.

Webinar Resources

The animation effect created by the slide switch adds an additional layer of interactivity to the pop-up that lends itself to storytelling. Students really enjoy being able to control how the lights pop on and off. 

If you’re working with a group of students, this is a winning combo for introducing pop-up mechanisms to your circuit experiments!

I’m an educator, artist, and technologist. My work, both in the classroom and beyond, focuses on the intersection of the visual arts and technology. I’ve spent the majority of my career doing educational work in a variety of contexts, from working as a visual arts teacher to developing learning resources at a robotics startup. I find that centering technological creation in the arts engages audiences that are typically marginalized in STEM education and creates opportunities for deep and authentic learning. As an artist, my work is idea-driven and straddles a variety of disciplines. I am currently experimenting with combining ceramics and traditional metalsmithing to incorporate circuits into sculptural work.

To learn more about Kristin’s work, visit www.kosiecki.com.

If you’d like to view the webinar, you may do so here.

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Today’s spotlight is on Corinne Okada Takara, a mixed media-artist and STEAM Educator, well-known for her commitment to building community through story-telling.

By cultivating opportunities for playful making in public spaces, with a focus upon building “conversation spaces,” Corinne’s experimental works often combine biomaterials, technology, and different flavors of cultural knowledge.

These projects center community voices in imagining abundant futures, while also celebrating cultural memory and ecological resilience.

Corinne Okada Takara

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am an artist and STEAM educator in Honolulu, Hawai’i. As the daughter of a toy designer, I place a high value on play in my personal and collaborative work. After spending several decades in California creating innovation spaces and programs at the intersection of biology, art, science and community embedded knowledge, I am continuing this work in Hawai’i.

I am both a practicing artist and an educator working with museums, community centers, libraries and universities. 

Early in my career, I created mixed-media tapestries using Asian wrappers, family fabrics, seeds, and rice bags to honor the resourceful creativity of my father’s family on the Pāʻia Maui sugar cane plantation.

Over time, my work shifted towards blended art and technology explorations that uplifted the creativity in communities, blending culture and accessible technology, in grant funded projects that engage communities in innovation design informed by cultural knowledge. 

My interest grew in accessible place-based biological materials blended into design. I co-founded the teen program BioJam Camp and developed projects like the Mycelium Grow Chandelier, and BioQuilts.

I believe in open source educational resources, so many of my projects include resources for others to go on their own journeys. The Pono STEAM Kit and the Floating Kīpuka Grow Kit, Unraveling the Knot and the Uchiwa Light Up Fans are a few that were designed for multigenerational learning spaces.

Recent works include the Maui Silt-Sock Mycoremediation Experiment Program (developed in collaboration with Tropical Fungi Academy, Dr. Rolando Perez, Keanahala of the Pu’uhonua Society, Maui Montessori and others) and Floating Future Gardens, blending ancestral fiber arts with biology to explore environmental healing.

These projects center community voices in imagining abundant futures, while also celebrating cultural memory and ecological resilience.

How would you describe what you do? What do you most enjoy about it?

I describe my work as creating spaces—both physical and conceptual—where community storytelling, science, and creative making come together. Whether I’m working with biomaterials, weaving lauhala, or co-creating workshops around microbial art, what I most enjoy is the process of learning and making alongside others.

I love when participants bring their own knowledge, questions, and cultural lenses into the mix—it makes the work feel alive and deeply rooted. What I enjoy making most are explorations with tools, materials, or experiences that invite others to see the world differently, to notice what’s around them, and to feel a sense of belonging and possibility through that discovery.

What inspires you? Why do you do what you do?

I am inspired by the possibilities that emerge when art, science, and cultural knowledge intersect—especially in ways that are grounded in place. My work in biomaterial design centers around exploring local, often overlooked materials in ways that honor ancestral practices while fostering new forms of care for people and the land. I’m especially drawn to stories that are carried in craft traditions, and I see biodesign as a living language that can help us translate those stories into contemporary expressions. Through my work, I aim to uplift Indigenous and community knowledge systems that are often left out of conventional science and design narratives.

What motivates me most is learning in community. Whether through workshops with teens or multigenerational tinkering sessions, I’m passionate about creating spaces where people feel invited to experiment, collaborate, and shape knowledge together. I believe biodesign can be a tool for reclaiming agency and belonging—especially when rooted in local ecologies and lived experiences. I do what I do because I’ve seen firsthand how creative making can strengthen relationships to place and to one another. My hope is to cultivate more opportunities where people can imagine abundant, regenerative futures—starting with what’s already under our feet and in our hands.

What challenges and joys have you encountered during your creative (and/or professional) journey?

One of the ongoing challenges in my creative and professional journey has been sustaining funding for informal, community-based learning spaces—especially those that fall outside traditional education or gallery systems. Yet, these are often the most joyful and generative spaces: places where curiosity, cultural memory, and hands-on making come together in unexpected ways. I’ve found deep fulfillment in co-creating with youth, families, and elders, where the act of making becomes a way to share stories, explore science, and strengthen relationships to place. Despite the logistical hurdles, the joy of seeing someone light up with a new sense of agency or connection makes every challenge worth navigating.

A second challenge is that what I do is often outside the conventional scope of what is understood as art or science, so it has been both a challenge and opportunity to shape the narratives of each project and who I am as a creative tinkerer.

What do you want people to know about your creative process?

I want people to know that my creative process is deeply collaborative and often begins with a question rather than a clear answer. In many of my blended art and technology projects, I’m learning right alongside participants—whether it’s experimenting with new biomaterials, exploring circuitry, or co-weaving cultural stories into design. I see the process as a shared journey of tinkering, imagining, and iterating together. Rather than positioning myself as an expert, I approach each project as an opportunity to co-create knowledge and build spaces where everyone feels invited to contribute their voice, curiosity, and lived experience.

How are you using light (or Chibitronics) in your creations?

The magic of a light-up sticker lies in its ability to spark instant curiosity and delight—there’s something powerful about that “aha” moment when a circuit comes to life with just a bit of copper tape and intention. I’ve been fortunate to use Chibitronics in a variety of community-centered projects where light becomes both a technical and storytelling element.

Whether illuminating lauhala weaving, highlighting the geometry of Irish and Japanese knot cord sculptures, customizing camp journals, or activating handmade uchiwa fans for Obon festivals, light transforms these pieces into interactive expressions of culture and memory.

What I love most about working with Chibitronics is how accessible and inviting it makes circuitry for people of all ages and backgrounds. It’s not just about building circuits—it’s about weaving light into meaningful narratives. In every workshop or installation, the glow of an LED becomes a bridge between traditional craft and contemporary technology, encouraging participants to experiment, share stories, and imagine new possibilities through playful, hands-on exploration.

I also hope to incorporate Chibitronics into future DIY microbial fuel cell explorations with other artists and scientists.

Where can people learn more about you and your work?

https://www.okadadesign.com

https://nestmakerspace.weebly.com

https://www.instagram.com/corinnetakara

https://linktr.ee/corinnetakara

To learn more about Corinne Okada Takara, in her own voice, check out Episode #76 of Content Magazine’s podcast on Spotify.

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Today’s spotlight is on April Capalungan, a contemporary paper folder and visual storyteller who embraces experimentation and play to create stunning, thought-provoking art. Singled out in 2023 by the Moveable Book Society for her pop-up book, A Tail’s Tale, April’s creative journey continues to evolve.

Meticulous, detailed, and intensely curious, APRL’s bold and surprising work stands apart for its complexity and interactivity. For example, her contribution of a light-up pop-up book called, Knock, to our #LightUpPopUpTober collaboration in October 2024, is absolutely magical!

To see this book in action, visit the Chibitronics LightUpPopUpTober Gallery. (See Day 31: Knock)

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m April Capalungan, a.k.a. APRL, an award-winning emerging paper engineer, illustrator, and designer. My work revolves around exploring the materiality of paper and its potential for interactivity, inspired by science and the arts. With creative grit, I strive to find the playful intersection of geometry, interactivity, lighting design, pop-ups, and paper engineering sculptures.

My journey has been a transformation from aspiring to become a doctor to pursuing a creative life. It was a life-changing eureka moment of self-discovery that helped me uncover my love for storytelling through making. 

I hold a double degree in Medical Technology and Visual Communication, which has shaped my innate curiosity, keen eye for detail, and passion for experimentation in bringing ideas to life.

Beyond this, APRL (without an “I”) reflects how my work goes beyond myself, embracing the collaborative nature of creativity–an open invitation to reshape and reimagine how stories unfold.

*Awarded by the Movable Book Society in 2023, Cleveland, Ohio. Recipient of the Emerging Paper Engineer Prize 2023 A Tail’s Tale: An Interactive Picture Book About Child-Pet Companionship in Enhancing Emotional Literacy for Children Ages 7 to 11 (In English and Filipino translated by Waya Lao). 

How would you describe what you do? What do you most enjoy about it?

I’m a modern-day paper folder and visual storyteller creating pop-ups, paper sculptures, and stop motion animation. Along the way, I’ve worked on illustrations, murals, and design projects.

Everything I create is guided by my innate curiosity and a sense of play. I’ve built an approach called “paper playground” – a space to rediscover childlike wonder by exploring paper’s materiality through cutting, folding, collage, and even tearing.

The joy of my practice lies in the constant process of discovery, where I emphasize the freedom of paper’s materiality to reconstruct and/or deconstruct itself with a sense of play on different planes to tell a story–bridging my love of science and art.  

What I enjoy the most is seeing the audience interact with the material’s tactile charm. They become part of the story too. 

What do you most enjoy making?

Any ideas that invite an open exploration of paper as a medium and integrating geometry, interactivity, lighting, and even illustration or printmaking to tell a story. 

As an emerging paper engineer and artist, I’m embracing the endless possibilities of what this pursuit of a creative life might lead to. As part of my creative process, I try to find time making daily improv paper fold series called “Origami Notes.”

What do you want people to know about your creative process?

Always beginning with thinking and tinkering. My creative process consists of play and experimentation in transforming the idea by reconstruction and/or deconstruction in preserving the subject’s core essence with a degree of abstraction.

While it would always be possible to make a more ‘complex’ paper mechanism, I always ask, “Why?” This questions reminds me to trust the poetic simplicity of paper’s materiality.

I’m more interested in finding ways to create an intentional balance between forms, colors, paper engineering, and open-ended interactions of the audience. Through the process, I discover how these collective elements and active participation of the audience morph the narration of the story as it unfolds.

What inspires you? 

My inspirations include the Bauhaus Movement, Japanese graphic design, and the surreal paintings of René Magritte. I’m fascinated by the intersection of natural pattern design in science and the geometric beauty found in mathematics.

Most importantly, I’m inspired by children’s imaginative way of seeing the world. It reminds me of my own childhood experiences and the importance of creative expression. My work is rooted in this reflection—thinking about what I needed as a child. I want to find ways to build a space to creatively express oneself, and a reminder to just simply play.

How do you take creative breaks?

Learning new things beyond my make-shift studio called Studio Laro. I’m still learning how to practice mindful rest. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! 

So far, I like making a warm cup of tea at any time of the day. 

I have a small collection of pop-up books and children’s picture books. It’s slowly growing but in the meantime, I’m making space to spend time alone in libraries and bookstores looking through whatever book that interests me.

I like catching up with friends over long drives, new food, or random afternoon walks – just basking in the warmth of the sun (of course wearing sunscreen). And on every weekend, going for quick drive-thru breaks with my napping intern named Antoinette.

How are you using light (or Chibitronics) in your creations?

My main medium is paper as well as playing with different approaches in transforming its dimensionality. I create shape shifting illusions formed through natural and orchestrated lighting.

It’s been fun learning how circuit sketching works using Chibitronics LEDs in creating my entry for #LightUpPopUpTober2024 book entitled “Knock”. 

The choice of sensor or switch design in every page needed to compliment the paper engineered structures in telling the story. I took time to play around how to approach each spread. A Chibitronics tutorial came in handy in exploring this. 

During my prototyping process, the Chibitronics conductive fabric tape became a more ideal material for mapping out circuits, especially anticipating paper folds or interconnected circuits. 

Apart from creating paper electronics, light plays a key role in many of my works, including “Wonderwall” (2024), an interactive wall lighting.

I’m currently working on another lighting design to be released in March 2025, which continues my exploration of interplay between light, geometry, and paper.

What would you like readers to know about your recent book art creation, Knock?

“Knock” is a three-spread, fully handmade light-up book art piece. It combines hand-cut paper collage, strokes of pencil lines, Chibitronics LEDs, and paper engineering. Each spread features a unique switch or sensor design, carefully integrated into the narrative.

[To see this book in action, visit the Chibitronics LightUpPopUpTober Gallery.]

My chosen prompt for #LightUpPopUpTober 2024 was “Knock.” I love playing with open ended stories and finding a balance between clues and curiosity.

I could’ve gone with the idea from my own (self-acclaimed clever) knock knock jokes. But then, I thought about the reader’s perspective of opening a door-like book. A simple reflection of one’s anticipation of what’s on the other side of the door and where it might lead.

An excerpt from Knock:
“Where to?” a question that keeps knocking—one I’ll always ponder.

What challenges and joys have you encountered during your creative (and/or professional) journey?

As an emerging paper engineer and artist, I find joy in the challenges that invite me to go beyond what I know, and embrace what I have yet to know. Along the way in the pursuit of a creative life, I’ve been blessed to cross paths with the supportive people who share genuine care and respect in the craft that we practice.

I’ve recently facilitated a paper engineering / pop-up workshop empowering children’s creative self-expression through art called “Power Pop!” to Grade 1 students.

I find it amazing to witness the playful observation of a child in how they discover what they can freely create from the material, shapes, forms, and colors.

Where can people learn more about you and your work?

See more paper engineering, illustration, and design on my portfolio (www.aprl.co). 

On instagram, explore @aprl.see and @aprl.shapes to see what I’m up to next. Including my on-going improv paper folding series called “Origami Notes”

I also aspire to be a creative non-fiction writer and share about my creative journey on Substack (@aprl).

For any project inquiries or collaborations, feel free to send me an email (hello@aprl.co). Thank you!  

The post Meet the Maker: April Capalungan (APRL) appeared first on Chibitronics.

Today’s spotlight is on Andrew Crawford, a modern-day Renaissance man and cultural anthropologist who dabbles in a dizzying array of creative pursuits! Over the years, we’ve come to know Andrew from his paper engineering and penchant for integrating light into pop-up cards and other three dimensional objects.

A prolific maker, Andrew is generous with his time, often sharing tutorials and detailed videos of his builds. Most recently, Andrew was an integral part of the Chibitronics LightUpPopUpTober Team (see Day 11: Reverse)!

The most interesting things seem to happen at the intersections of things no one thought were connected. 

– Andrew Crawford

Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am a maker, designer, and artist working in a variety of different media including paper art, kirigami, printmaking, textiles, wood, and more.  You may have seen my light-up Japanese Garden Lantern and Spiral Crystal pop-up cards, or my light-up polyhedra in Chibitronics’ newsletter, on Instagram, or on Mastodon.

My project about creating connections and community with paper art at the recent XOXO festival also caught some attention. 

I have done commercial work in web and software design, paper engineering, and photography for small organizations and giant multinational corporations; but, you would likely be most interested in my work in origamic architecture-style pop-up cards, kirigami, and paper electronics.

I grew up in a family that made things.  My grandmother (Mary Jane Sibley) was an art teacher.  She painted in watercolors and acrylic, created miniatures (including some with clay she formulated herself), and was one of the people who pioneered photo silk screening.  She put a lot of time into showing me how to do that stuff when I was little.  In a fun reversal of established tropes, she introduced me to digital design tools.

When I was a child, my mom (Carol Crawford) taught people in the neighborhood how to make corn husk dolls, and turned tin and aluminum cans into amazingly-detailed flowers.  I learned to sew by watching her make my clothes and Halloween costumes. More recently, she has taken up pastels.

My grandfather (Clay Sibley) was an award-winning wood carver.  Later in life, he did a whole series of wonderful, award-winning, life-like birds. Our home was filled with things they made.

Meanwhile, my dad was an electrical engineer with a computer specialization in the days before there were separate degrees for computers.  So, I was exposed to technology and learned to program before that was common.

I studied cultural anthropology through the Master’s level, but moved to working in tech for financial stability.  I was always making things, from the textile art I made to help pay my way through grad school to the origamic architecture pop-up cards and serigraphs (screen prints) I sent to friends and family for holidays and special occasions.

How would you describe what you do? What do you most enjoy making and why?

My creative impulse seems to be a constant feed of ideas for things that I feel drawn to make.  Unfortunately, it happens so frequently I could never get to all of them. Even if I never came up with a single new idea to add to my list, I’d still run out of time before I get to all of them. Often, I will see something – a finished object, a leaf, a piece of paper, something – and some aspect of it will make me think of something else.  I find myself thinking “what if it’s like this but, also that?”  My most interesting projects develop from there.

Novelty drives me a lot.  Sometimes it is trying out a whole new technique or material but, other times, it is the novelty of refining something subtle and thinking about it in new ways.

Sometimes I describe the things I make as “confections.”

– Andrew Crawford

Sometimes I describe the things I make as “confections.”  Traditionally, a confection is a sweet edible item that someone has put a lot of work into making tasty and pretty.  A handmade truffle is a good example.  It was hours of work for the chef.  Then, it delights someone briefly while they hold it, smell it, and eat it.  Similarly, I put a lot of energy and attention into creating things people will enjoy for an ephemeral moment, such as the moment of opening a pop-up card for the first time.

What materials do you most gravitate towards?

A lot of the time, a new idea for a project or design will need an obvious set of mediums, but I am often drawn to more natural elements like paper, fabric, wood, and stone, and I love when I am able to put them together to make something unexpected emerge.

But, of all of the materials that I’ve worked with, paper holds a special place in my heart.  It is inexpensive and abundant.  Even the fancier stuff I work with is mostly only a few cents a sheet.  It is easy to cut and shape.  Yet, you can make a piece of paper that unfolds into a little house or a garden lantern that lights up.  It’s magic!

What do you want people to know about your work and/or creative process?

Everything can be inspiration to create something new.  It’s an exercise in really seeing and remembering.  Those are the materials for creative synthesis.

The most interesting things seem to happen at the intersections of things no one thought were connected.  That’s the logic of creativity – abduction.  We learn that reasoning is either inductive – going from the general to the specific – or deductive – going from the specific to the general.  The lesser-known abduction is finding (or making) the connection between two disparate things.

The explosion of affordable digital fabrication tools and new materials has spurred me to play with more things, to try them together, to make something new.

What inspires you?  What are your interests?  What are you passionate about?

There is a long list of all of these!  It seems like there is something new that catches my interest all the time but, things dwell in my mind and come back when the time is right.  I feel like I am exploring a deep synergy among all the things I notice.  I tend to talk about “recurring themes” when asked that.  Some of those are: origamic architecture-style pop-up cards, kirigami, printmaking, landscape photography, gardening, cooking, Celtic design, fiber arts, and mythology.

I grew up around Japanese art and culture and that’s a noticeable influence in a lot of what I do.

In the last few years, I have become excited about showing more people how I did things.  I have been making some short videos.  My nieces and nephews, in particular, seem to enjoy seeing how I made the things I send them.

How are you using light (or Chibitronics) in your creations?

Light is really magical and Chibitronics’ Circuit Stickers are a huge leap forward for easily being able to add lights to projects, particularly when I work with paper electronics.  Soldering surface-mount LEDs to copper tape on paper is really fiddly and Circuit Stickers are ideal for this. 

They have also enabled new approaches.  Conductive fabric tape seems to be a lot more reliable in many applications, particularly when stuff has to bend or fold, like in a pop-up card.  While you can solder to some conductive fabrics, the rigid connections are not the most resilient.  Conductive adhesives and sewable components (like Circuit Stickers) for flexible mechanical connections make conductive fabric tape a lot more practical.

I have made a few light-up pop-up cards, and put lights in some more rigid paper structures (like the stars and icosahedra).  I have created a few other projects with LEDs and phosphorescent materials.  Plus, I have ideas for more (including pieces with fabric and wood) and, I am sure I will get to at least some of them soon.

What challenges and/or joys have you encountered during your creative (and/or professional) journey?

Time and space have always been challenges for me.  There are always more projects to do than I can reasonably get done.  Yet, I know I have more time for those than average.  Combining so many interests into one studio space sometimes makes for tight quarters.  As much as I covet larger workspaces, I am very aware of how fortunate I am to have the space I do.

The time I spend in my studio is a constant trickle of joy.  Sure, there are bits of frustration but, it’s like the saying about the worst day fishing.

Where can people learn more about you and your work?

The best place to follow my work is my website https://evermorestud.io/ where I post my projects, including a few with patterns you can download for free. You can also go to https://links.andrewcrawford.me/ for links to Mastodon and Instagram, and some tutorials on YouTube.

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This month, we are excited to introduce you to a brilliant educator and author, Ryan Jenkins, the cofounder of Wonderful Idea Co., a design studio focusing on STEAM education.

The time was right to feature Ryan, because he has a brand new book coming out this October, The Tinkering Workshop! A colorful chapter explores LEDs and hand-crafted circuits, with a variety of playful activities related to creating with light. Of note, one of the “Tinkering Inspirations” highlighted in this fun-packed resource is Chibitronics CEO and cofounder Jie Qi!

When Ryan isn’t jaunting around the world building prototypes and leading tinkering workshops, he still makes time for his own creative pursuits. For example, Ryan will be participating as a guest maker on the Chibitronics #LightUpPopUpTober team this year! Keep an eye out to see what he comes up with for the prompt “Recycle” near the end of the month!

Can you please introduce yourself?

I’m Ryan Jenkins, an educator and learning designer from California, currently living in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. I got my start as museum educator at the Exploratorium Tinkering Studio in San Francisco and now I run a creative studio called Wonderful Idea Company. 

How would you describe what you do? What do you most enjoy about it?

In my work, I develop ways for people to playfully explore art, science and technology through the process of tinkering. This includes leading workshops for teachers, putting together kits of materials for at-home projects and prototyping hands-on experiences for museum visitors. 

What do you most enjoy making?

I like creating project examples that are clear enough so that people understand what’s possible in the activities but scrappy enough so that learners feel they can construct something different or better than the initial versions. 

Please tell us about your work with the Wonderful Idea Company.

Wonderful Idea Company continues to be the umbrella for many experiments around teaching and learning with art, science and technology. I’m very interested to connect with other organizations like Cabaret Mechanical Theater, Dokk1 Public Library and Tinkertank. These collaborations open up new possibilities for tinkering materials, projects, facilitation strategies and environments. 

Some of the more recent areas for exploration include sustainability and renewable energy, artificial intelligence and collaborating with professional prototyping networks at a distance. At the same time, it’s rewarding to be constantly circling back to classic tinkering themes like marble machines, light and optics, automata and balance to figure out new and different ways to explore these ideas. 

I most enjoy it when I am surprised by unique and innovative things that the kids and adults come up with in the course of their investigations. Even if I have led a tinkering activity many times, there will always be new ideas and directions that I didn’t expect. 

What joys and challenges have you encountered during your creative (and/or professional) journey?

Some of the biggest joys have involved traveling around the world and doing tinkering workshops for surprising audiences like Tibetan Buddhist monks, Saudi Arabian high school students and LEGO designers in Denmark.

Some of these workshops have taken place in unexpected environments like a former Italian monastery full of centuries old frescos or surrounded by cutting edge technology at the MIT Media Lab. It’s been a joy to discover that all over the world people respond similarly to playful, open and self-directed learning environments. 

Some of the challenges that I’ve encountered have been related to capturing, evaluating and articulating the value of learning through tinkering. Traditional research methods often struggle to capture the complexity of a constructionist learning environment and it takes a lot of creative people working together to design qualitative research questions and studies. 

What do you want people to know about your creative process?

It’s important that educators and learning developers who design tinkering experiences go through the process of tinkering ourselves. When working on something new, I often try things that don’t work, get frustrated, ask for help, observe what’s not working and usually end up with something quite different from what I originally planned. 

It’s also really important to share and test ideas before they are completely finished. Posting about these half-baked ideas online or trying them out with learners provides many new ideas and directions for next steps. 

What inspires you? 

I’m inspired by a wide variety of artists and often take snippets of ideas from their work as a jumping off point for tinkering projects. Makers who are confident to share their process of working with materials, tools and ideas inspire me to do the same thing and I’m fascinated to see how artists combine everyday materials and new technologies. 

How are you using paper circuitry or Chibitronics in your creations? 

I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with Jie Qi on paper circuit ideas on and off for the past fifteen years or so. I think that Chibitronics materials and prompts offer a perfect way to blend art, science and engineering. I’ve done many traditional paper circuit workshops, but I’m also interested in pushing the bounds of collaborative or immersive explorations with these tools. 

A favorite project that used the programmable Chibitronics elements, was an interactive digital mural that we made at the Bay Area Maker Faire in 2018.  Participants clipped unique paper circuit creations to a wall with pre-programmed Chibitronics boards and wires attached.

At the end of the event we had a fading, blinking underwater themed scene. Another project that I drew on for the ‘glow city’ chapter of The Tinkering Workshop originated in a summer camp program where learners made cardboard structures of different city-themed elements and lit them up with programmed LEDs controlled by Chibitronics hardware. In both of these examples tinkerers contributed to something bigger than their own individual projects. 

What can you tell us about your new book, The Tinkering Workshop?

It’s been a really interesting and joyful process to put together this new book that is full of possibilities for making and tinkering with everyday materials around a variety of themes. 

The book is arranged around twenty “materials highlight” pages that give a bunch of simple explorations you can do with everyday objects like clothespins, LEDs or recycled paper cups.

We wanted to let learners easily sort projects by materials that are available to them and be able to get started tinkering right away. These low-threshold starting points let readers have a quick success that sparks a new idea about what to try next. 

The book shows twenty playful explorations organized around themes like electricity, mechanisms, wind and water and balance.

I wanted to make sure that the ‘instructions’ take up as little space as possible so that the majority of these pages gives suggestions about how you can play and explore in your own way. I tried to show multiple examples for each project so that it’s clear that everyone will have a different outcome. For each of these activities there’s a section with possibilities to go deeper, artists that work with similar ideas and connections to STEAM concepts. 

One of the most fun parts of putting together the book was working with the kid tinkerers who created and built the projects that we photographed. We spent one week on the photoshoot at the Storey Books HQ in North Adams Massachusetts and each day there were multiple learners and multiple activities. As our amazing photographers documented everything, I showed the kids how to use tools, facilitated as they worked through the projects and helped them prototype their ideas. In the book we wanted to focus less on seeing smiling kids with their finished projects but instead show their hands at work, testing out the creations as they were deeply engaged in the process of tinkering. 

The goal with Wonderful Idea Company is to always be experimenting and as much as possible and to share those experiments with other educators, designers, caregivers and young tinkerers. It’s been a spontaneous and unpredictable journey for the past seven years of trying to make things work as an independent studio, but that process has provided so many amazing learning moments along the way. 

Where can people learn more about you and your work?

The best place to get the latest news about my work is the Wonderful Idea Co blog.

I post on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook a bit less often.

To learn more about the book you can go to https://wonderfulidea.co/the-tinkering-workshop.

Pre-order your own copy of The Tinkering Workshop or attend the Online Launch Party!

Copies of The Tinkering Workshop may be pre-ordered on Amazon!

Ryan is hosting an online launch party on October 15th! To learn more or to get a free ticket, visit Eventbrite.

The post Meet the Maker: Ryan Jenkins appeared first on Chibitronics.

Since 2019, author-illustrator Keith Allen has been working behind the scenes to create one of the most eagerly anticipated, instantly recognizable, Instagram challenges of the paper crafting world—#PopUpTober. In the five years that have followed, his highly anticipated list of 31 prompts—one for each day of the month of October—have brought together a mix of aspiring and seasoned paper engineers, to create and share original pop-up spreads using the hashtag #PopUpTober.

Today’s spotlight is on a talented artist and paper engineer, the founder of #PopUpTober, Keith Allen!

Would you please introduce yourself, and perhaps tell us how you came up with your social media handle, @5am_popup? 

My name is Keith Allen and I’m a Graphic Designer / Illustrator from Cleveland Ohio. I’ve worked at American Greetings in Cleveland for nearly 20 years and that’s where I’ve really developed a love for working with paper. 

Through my paper-engineering interest, I fell in love with pop-up books and was amazed by a lot of their complexity. With my brother and grandmother, I self-published my first pop-up book in 2010, A Day in Rehoboth Beach.

I had been wanting to produce another book but found it hard to find the time between work and family. 

In 2013 my son was born and he was not the best sleeper. My wonderful wife would be up with him most of the night but asked that I take over the morning shift with him. I would get up at 5am every morning with him. The sleep schedule became routine and soon my son would stay asleep and I used that early morning hour to work on my pop-ups. That’s how 5am Press came to be and was how I made my second book, What a Mess! A Pop-up Misadventure.

How would you describe what you do? What do you most enjoy about it?

When I do school or library visits, I tell the kids that a paper-engineer is just a really fancy word for someone who loves to play with paper. 

My work at American Greetings is always changing, but currently I work on our Magic Moments line of greeting cards and decor. These cards are complex, displayable pop-ups. 

There is always a design challenge that needs solving with pop-ups. I love that aspect of paper engineering. It can be frustrating at times, but when it comes together in the end and everything works, it’s very satisfying. 

How did you come up with the idea for #PopUpTober?

In 2018, I took part in the month-long challenge #InkTober where artists make one ink drawing based on daily prompt words during the month of October and then post it to social media. I had been doing a lot of work digitally and wanted to challenge myself by illustrating traditionally for a month. 

Not that I was doing the challenge simply for “likes,” but my ink drawings weren’t getting much attention until I made a pull-tab ink drawing for the prompt “drooling.” 

People seemed to respond so well to the moving ink drawing, that I decided to finish out the challenge making each prompt “movable-paper.” 

It was suggested to me that I should begin my own monthly art challenge centered around pop-ups the following year. #PopUpTober was born and kicked off in 2019. The rest is history. 

What do you most enjoy making?

I enjoy illustrating and working on products for kids. Since I was young, I’ve wanted to be a children’s book illustrator. 

My career journey took me to Cleveland to work at a greeting card company which has been great for me, because I have had the opportunity to work on a lot of fun projects for kids. 

I’ve been fortunate to have worked on four books where I was able to do illustration, design, and engineering. Those have been very special to me and it’s thrilling to see your passion projects realized. 

What inspires you? 

I honestly find so much creative inspiration from #PopUpTober. Through the challenge I have discovered so many amazingly talented paper-engineers that I otherwise did not know of. Seeing how others approach the same prompt in a completely unique and interesting way is inspiring and forces you to think differently. 

What do you want people to know about your creative process?

My creative process involves a lot of trial and error. I occasionally start working on the computer if the pop-up is very technical, but my preferred method is starting at my drafting table and cutting paper manually. I compare building my pop-ups to sculpting. It’s a very hands-on process for me in the beginning and I like the freedom that brings. Being hands-on in that way leads to a lot of discovery.

What challenges and/or joys have you encountered during your creative (and/or professional) journey?

Self-publishing was a big challenge for me but was extremely rewarding when it all worked out. Jumping into that venture taught me a great deal about all other facets of developing and producing a product. It forced me to not only create a book, but to do fund-raising, marketing, sourcing, and all aspects of running a small business. There were definitely some big challenges to overcome, but that’s a story for another day.

How are you using light or electronics in your creations? 

Combining electronics with dimensional paper can produce such a great result. I have done many pop-up greeting cards with music and sound for American Greetings in the past and they are some of my favorite designs. 

I am very thankful to Chibitronics for offering to partner with #PopUpTober this year!  It’s very exciting to see them get involved in this way and I’m really excited to see what amazing creations come out of this year’s challenge.

Last year, Chibitronics sent me some very easy to use lights and I built a pop-up ‘trick-or-treat’ house where the lights turn on when the door closes. 

I can’t wait to explore how I can use some of their electronics on my #PopUpTober designs this year. 

How can people learn more about your work? 

Visit my website: https://www.messypopup.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/5am_popup/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/5ampopup/

Google #PopUpTober to explore amazing work from paper engineers all over the world

To learn more about the PopUpTober/ Chibitronics collaboration, please visit Chibitronics Lights up #PopUpTober.

The post Meet the Maker: Keith Allen appeared first on Chibitronics.

In this month’s spotlight, we are excited to introduce Seth Berg, a Colorado-based artist, educator, and avid skier. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Seth recently created a gigantic light-up, pop-up structure. The enormous artwork was open to the public as part of a large community event, a fundraiser for the Ah Haa School for the Arts.

Inspired by the intricate shapes and patterns of an Indian architectural treasure, Seth’s labor of love was large enough to walk through!

In addition to creating ‘immersive art,” Seth is also a member of the Movable Book Society, a group of artists and collectors interested in paper engineering and pop-up books.

Seth Berg grew up in New Delhi during the sixties and is nostalgic for random aspects of Indian culture such as oversaturated religious stickers and vintage Bollywood posters. He studied Art History as an undergraduate at Oberlin College, and he has an MA in K-12 Curriculum from Goddard College. In 2008, he was invited to the White House by President George W. Bush as the Colorado Teacher of the Year.

Can you please tell us a little about yourself?

I worked in education as a teacher and consultant until I was 65, and now spend my time as a paper-engineering artist. 

What draws you to creating pop-ups?

I consider pop-up cards to be one page books that can explore many of the subjects that interest me.

The childish joy of movable books doesn’t mean that the content has to be childish.

I like pop-up and movable cards that have an extra helping of magic.

“How’d you do that?” is a response I like to hear.

The lattice work pattern of the card depicted above is derived from an ancient carved stone window at the Stepwell site in Rajasthan, India.

What can you tell us about your recent architectural pop-up art exhibition in Telluride?

My recent exhibition, this past weekend (19-21 July, 2024), featured a giant pop up card of Chand Baori that visitors could enter.

I am not sure if anyone else has been foolish enough to attempt this. The opened card was 12 feet wide and 8 feet tall, because that’s the largest size I could achieve with commonly available materials.

A gallery docent used a rope pulley system to raise and lower the card every five minutes for each new group of visitors.

I’m proud that the card was big enough that some children got lost inside and left their bewildered parents searching.

What made you select Chand Baori as the theme for your exhibition?

I like abstract buildings inspired by Brutalism or Parametric architecture. I love it when an actual building looks like the set of a futuristic Sci-Fi movie. I’m especially intrigued when a piece of art or architecture from an ancient era has these same qualities.

How are you using paper circuitry in your creations?

I have started using Chibitronics LED lights for the cards in my latest project about Chand Baori, an ancient stepwell in India.

I like white pop up cards with colored lights, and I’ve also had success with large cards that fold to 11.5” x 11.5” on contrasting colored cardstock with Chibitronics blue lights on a blue backdrop, red lights on a red backdrop and yellow lights on a yellow backdrop. I use a reed switch (naturally off) so that the lights come on when the card is opened.

Although the Chibitronics LED lights are nice and flat, the batteries, magnets, and switches that I use are thicker than I’d like. I’m still exploring different ways to make the cards seem flatter and thinner than they actually are.

What do you want people to know about your creative process?

I have learned that it’s quicker to jump in and correct the mistakes as I go rather than try to plan a piece perfectly for the early drafts. This is partly because I was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and I tend to fixate on some details and forget about the larger (and more obvious) design challenges. 

What are some of your other interests?

I collect lurid pulp fiction paperbacks from 1950-1976.

I collect ancient beads, preferably over 1000 years old.

I collect agates with a special optical property known as “chatoyance.”

I collect black and white photos of rain.

I own over 100 pop up books.

Where can people learn more about you and your work?

I hope to create a website soon, but I tend to move on and start a brand new project before I’ve had the chance to post finished work. I do have an email solely for my movable paper projects: waywardelves@gmail.com.

The post Meet the Maker: Seth Berg appeared first on Chibitronics.

Moonshotkidz is an exciting new startup that is “currently producing arts, crafts and content” related to “DIY electronics, STEAM, and science activities for beginners.”  A gallery of boundless creativity, a vibrant well of inspiration, the interactive works of Moonshotkidz are a feast for the eyes.

The founder of Moonshotkidz, Irina Rymshina, is a modern day Renaissance woman with a resume that will positively blow your mind! One of the newest additions to the Chibitronics Design Team, Irina is probably best known for her colorful and accessible reels and video tutorials that combine art with technology in a surprising, whimsical way!  She makes STEAM learning look simple, doable, and absolutely fun!

Read on to learn more!

Please tell us a little bit about yourself. 

I have really enjoyed reading books since I was a little girl and I loved to draw with colored pencils. By the time I was finishing high school, I explored enrolling in an art, design, or architecture school, but I didn’t find any opportunities. 

I got a scholarship to study economics and finance and took that path. After graduation, I worked as an economist in an engineering multinational corporation, completed an MBA in Information Technology Management and worked as an operations manager in a multinational IT software company. By that time, I was actively involved in the startup ecosystem, supporting different entrepreneurs with finance, business development, project management and fundraising. That is when I got a scholarship to participate in the Graduate Studies Program at Singularity University in Silicon Valley, focused on innovation using the tools of exponential technologies like Artificial Intelligence, 3D printing, etc. 

The corporate founding partners of Singularity University were Google, Autodesk, IDEO, LinkedIn, the X Prize Foundation, the Kauffman Foundation, and Genentech, so we had a really hands-on approach to the use of technologies. I got really involved in innovation, entrepreneurship, prototyping, and the incubation of startups.

I have worked as a co-founder and team member in many tech startups since, as well as teaching entrepreneurship and innovation for executives and MBA programs. 

How did you start creating such innovative educational content for young people?

I got married with my partner of more than15 years and had a baby boy, and got fully engaged into his learning process and was devouring all available books, resources, tools and toys related to creativity and STEM.

As I began engaging in educational STEM activities and playing together with my child, I reconnected with my inner child, and re-ignited my passion for drawing, arts and crafts. I realized I was really enjoying myself and getting inspired everyday to learn more, to read more, to create more, to use more tools and materials. I was really having fun and sharing these special moments with my son and my husband.

This is when I started to share my arts and crafts projects on social media and created Moonshotkidz, a project aimed to inspire people around the world to experiment with Do-it-Yourself (DYI) electronics and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) activities for beginners. 

You create a lot of content, which is not always easy to do. How do you come up with new ideas? What is your secret? 

I don’t really have a secret.  I just get an idea and execute it. Sometimes, I am not confident or happy with my final project, and I get surprised by the positive response from my followers, because they really like it. 

On other occasions the opposite happens, when I am able to execute a creative idea but the project does not get any traction on views or comments.  But most of the time, I am just inspired by my surroundings, something I read in a book or online, and the ideas cross pollinate and feed from each other. 

When some of my content gets traction in the millions of views, I am always surprised, but I enjoy the process of creation, because it is fun, entertaining and a way for me to express myself and relax.

What is your vision for Moonshotkidz?

I want Moonshotkidz to encourage individuals to embrace their inner child and engage in playful experimentation with new tools and supplies, fostering creativity, curiosity, and lifelong learning. I believe that STEAM education integrates the arts into the STEM subjects, promoting critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation through interdisciplinary approaches. 

By incorporating the Arts into STEM fields, STEAM emphasizes creativity, aesthetic appreciation, and the application of artistic principles in scientific and technical contexts, nurturing well-rounded individuals with diverse skills and perspectives. 

Moonshotkidz aims to encourage educators, teachers and parents to participate in STEAM activities together with their students and their children as a way to spend quality time together by learning and communicating in a safe, fun and creative environment.

How did you discover Chibitronics?

As I was looking for supplies and materials, I found Chibitronics, with an amazing variety of products like LED lights stickers with different colors and effects, conductive tape in copper and fabric, light sensor stickers, and others. I started to use them in my projects.

I was shocked a few months later when I was contacted by Chibitronics inviting me to become part of the Chibitronics Design Team! The Chibitronics team has been so supportive of my ideas and opportunities, and really validates the true spirit of the open innovation process between companies and people.

What challenges have you encountered while creating engaging STEAM projects that appeal to children?

One of the challenges in this field is how to make the equipment, devices, tools, materials and supplies safe for children. Even though my target [audience] are adult teachers and parents, I understand that these are excellent activities to be done together with children at school or at home with their families, so I always include the appropriate disclaimer that all projects should always be created under adult supervision. But there are valid concerns regarding the materials, particularly coin cell batteries, because there may be younger siblings and toddlers who might grab them without permission. So safety is definitely the number one priority for me.

What are your plans for the future?

Looking into the future, I am currently brainstorming the idea of writing a Moonshotkidz book and am in the ideation stage to create a startup company to offer my community a new product or service that will support the vision of Moonshotkidz, inspiring more people to awaken their inner child, have fun, be creative and makers with STEAM together with their families, students and their communities. 

Where can people learn more about you and your work?

So during my Moonshotkidz journey, I have discovered that there are millions of people around the world who share the same passion for STEAM as me. My social media channels in Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Patreon, X (formerly Twitter) have grown organically to more than 400,000 followers, with millions of viewers who comment and share my projects and get inspired to create amazing projects too. Along the way I have been receiving many collaboration requests from more companies that produce STEM materials, supplies, equipment and toys, wanting to use their products and services in my projects and share them with my community. 

The post Meet the Maker: Moonshotkidz appeared first on Chibitronics.

How would you describe what you do? What do you most enjoy about it?

Most of my work involves developing simple hands-on learning activities for kids and teens using arts and crafts supplies and other “everyday stuff.” I have worked with organizations including the Girl Scouts (I developed their Robotics badges!) and KidWind and companies including Adafruit and now Chibitronics. I also teach workshops for kids and teens, present training sessions for teachers and parents, and I’m the author of more than a dozen books of hands-on learning projects such as BOTS, Making Simple Robots, and Paper Inventions.

I’ve created learning activities for every topic, from the Silk Road to video game development. But for the past few years I’ve focused on science and technology projects. Using crafts supplies to make them cute and colorful is a bonus! Not only do they draw attention, they also show some who might feel intimidated by concepts like electronic circuits and coding that they can start by building upon the craft skills they already have (like cutting, folding, and gluing) and the materials they’re used to working with (like paper, cardboard, and tape).

What do you want people to know about your creative process?  

I’m more artist than scientist, but I believe the creative process for art and science have a lot of overlap. For me, developing a new craft project is a lot like the “engineering design process.” You start with a goal (for example, making a fun light-up paper model of a creature, where its parts also serve as the battery holder and on-off switch). Then you sketch out and build a “prototype” — a quick-and-dirty test version to see how well your idea really works. If you run into problems you need to fix (such as finding that the folding paw switch on your cat design reach the LED circuit on its belly), or areas to improve (like reducing the number of bends in the conductive tape), you keep trying different solutions until you come up with a design that fits the bill.

What inspires you? 

If anything, I’m inspired by materials. When I look at ordinary crafts and household materials, or things from the recycling bin, I immediately start imagining what they might be good for. For example, I collected old solar garden lights for years before I came up with a way to use them to power a simple robot or light up a model house. 

Paper and cardboard are my favorite materials to work with — they’re accessible to everybody, cheap, and easy to work with. You can quickly draw and print out a template to test out your design, then tweak it and repeat as needed.

I also love the challenge of seeing whether I can recreate someone’s cool but complicated design in paper, using simple mechanisms you can fold up and tape.

What are your interests? What are you passionate about?

I love to get outdoors, and I try to make sure I remember to get up from my work table for a little while every day and move around. My husband is a long-distance cyclist, so I get out on my bike as much as possible to stay in shape for our adventures together. I also adore meeting up with a friend or a group for kayak trips on lakes and rivers in our part of upstate New York. In my down time, I am a movie and TV fanatic. It gives me something to talk about in our weekly video chats with our grown kids (one who works in film editing and visual effects, and the other who’s a creative director for a video game company).

What challenges and joys have you encountered during your creative/professional journey?

Right now, as the social media environment evolves and changes, the biggest challenge is staying in touch with other creators of educational material and those who make use of our ideas, like classroom teachers and parents. That said, my biggest joy is meeting people online or in-person at places like science festivals, educator conferences, and Maker Faires and hearing about what they’re doing. It always helps recharge my creative batteries.

How are you using Chibitronics in your creations?

I was first introduced to the whole idea of light-up paper designs something like 15 years ago when I saw and heard about the work of Leah Buechley at the MIT Media Lab and her students, including Chibitronics founder Jie Qi. Nowadays it’s the Chibitronics Design Team that inspires me. I look at the ways they incorporate LED circuits and new products like Animating LED Stickers into their amazing greeting cards, and try to find ways to adapt those ideas for kids and classrooms. Right now I’m working on two areas — making designs simpler to help younger children get started, and 3-D paper engineering designs that feed into my love of miniatures. I’m looking forward to seeing where else light-up paper designs lead me!

Where can people learn more about you and your work?

You can keep up with my latest projects, books, and workshops on my website. You can also get a glimpse of my works-in-progress on social media, including @kathyceceri on Twitter and @kathy_ceceri on Instagram.

The post Meet the Maker: Kathy Ceceri appeared first on Chibitronics.

A dynamic new addition to the Chibitronics Design Team, the powerful trio comprising Hello Play has already left us clamoring for more! In their debut post, Exploration of Unusual Materials and Circuits with Chibitronics LED Stickers, curiosity and a practice of open-ended experimentation conjure up an amusing menagerie of glowing objects! Read more to learn how this inspiring collective of brilliant minds is approaching important work—and meaningful creations—informed by boundless play.

Please tell us a little bit about yourselves and your group came to be.

Hi! We are Hello Play, a collective of designers, educators, and creative technologists, who design meaningful and playful experiences. Founded by the hands, hearts, and minds of Andrea Spykstra, Celeste Moreno, and Mariana Tamashiro, Hello Play emerged from our shared passion for nurturing the creative spirit within each of us.

We met at the ATLAS Institute at CU Boulder, where we embraced a radical antidisciplinary approach to design, technology, and learning.  Those themes became core interests to us, and from a desire to work together, we created Hello Play. Drawing inspiration from the iconic “Hello World!” in programming, our name expresses our belief that technology can be a playful material for creative expression and learning experiences. 

How would you describe the work that you are drawn to do? What do you most enjoy making? Why do you do it? 

We are drawn to design experiences and tools that support people expressing themselves creatively. From combining machine learning with picture books and storytelling to experimenting with paper maché circuits, we love engaging people in unusual and creative learning experiences. 

When people engage in experiences driven by curiosity, experimentation, and playfulness, they inherently cultivate a sense of agency. Over time, this creative agency empowers them to envision themselves as capable individuals who can actively shape, design, alter, and remix their environment to better suit their needs and desires.

What do you most want people to know and understand about your group’s story, creative process, or sources of inspiration?  

We want people to understand that play, joy, and creativity are fundamental aspects of the learning process, regardless of age or background. At Hello Play, we want to create experiences in which learners of all ages and walks of life can explore and create in a playful way. Drawing from our diverse experiences in academia, education, and industry, we bring an interdisciplinary perspective to our creative process. By integrating elements from various fields such as design, engineering, crafts, and more, we design experiences that can resonate with a wide range of individuals. 

What inspires you? From where does your creative drive or motivation to create originate?  

Many things inspire us! From the shadows of a tree on the sidewalk to a creative way to debug a line of code. The shape of an electronic component or the intricate details of embroidery techniques – each can lead to an idea for a project. 

In terms of people and groups, there are many that we are inspired by, especially from the global community of tinkerers, makers, and creative learning enthusiasts. However, we want to highlight a few of them that have been essential in our journey: the Tinkering Studio, the Lifelong Kindergarten research group, the Wonderful Idea Co., the Hand and Machine Lab, and the Creative Communities research group (that we all have been part of!). 

Although many things inspire us, probably what creates the biggest motivation for us are the learners of all ages that we work with—seeing people create something that brings them joy or seeing people learn how to do something new is creative fuel for us.

What are your interests?  What are you passionate about?

As a collective, we are interested in exploring how to create novel and engaging experiences out of quirky (bubbles, playdough, candy), traditional (paint, glue, tape), and novel (AI, laser cutters, 3D printers) tools and materials. We live for the “aha!” or “wow!” moment when a learner tries or discovers something new.

As individuals, Andrea is a black tea lover with a heart for education, a keen eye for design, and a knack for creative endeavors. She is currently captivated by large-format printers.

Celeste is always chasing the feeling of being a kid who finds the coolest rocks to put in their pocket by designing creative learning experiences for curious minds of all ages. Recently, Celeste has been interested in all things textile from sewing clothes to weaving with codable LED lights.

Mariana is a fervent supporter of all things sparkly. She merges theory and practice to stir creativity in others. Her favorite shape is the hexagon and is currently tinkering with automata made of candy.

What challenges or joys have you encountered during your creative/ professional journey?

As a collective with diverse experiences, interests, and talents, we often struggle to clearly define “who we are” and “what we do.” Since we interact with people and companies from a wide range of different industries (anything from traditional crafts like painting and sculpture to emerging technologies like AI and machine learning), we often have to reframe our value to different stakeholders.

Finding value alignment can also be a challenge when we share our work and our perspectives. Sometimes it takes a bit of energy to explain that the playfulness that we advocate for is not in opposition to how serious we are about our work. We are deeply thoughtful when designing fun and playful experiences. It is precisely the playful and creative components that create a space to make mistakes, explore, and create meaningful experiences. 

One of the greatest joys of being together at Hello Play is working with people who share similar values. Working with like-minded people not only brings moments of joy but also creates a sense of safety and trust within our team. Also, the “aha” moments always put a smile on our faces. Either where someone figures out how to make something work or how to do something that they didn’t know how to do before. 

What advice might you give to young makers?

One piece of advice for young makers is to embrace experimentation and perseverance. Don’t be afraid to dive in and try new things, even if they seem intimidating at first. Thomas Edison famously remarked that he didn’t fail 1,000 times in inventing the lightbulb; he simply found 1,000 ways that didn’t work. So, if your initial attempts don’t go as planned, don’t give up! Instead, view them as valuable learning experiences. 

Also, finding a supportive community of fellow makers can be very helpful. Seek out mentors, join maker spaces or online communities, and collaborate with others who share your interests. Not only will you gain valuable insights and encouragement, but you can also form meaningful connections in your journey as a maker. 

How are you using Chibitronics in your creations?

We are interested in exploring unusual, collaborative, and educational ways to use Chibitronics in our creations. For example, in our last exploration, we created a project with unexpected materials (plastic bag, guitar pick, paper maché). In terms of collaborative projects, we want to experiment with the possibilities of creating something together even though we are physically located far away from each other. Also, we are interested in using Chibitronics to facilitate learning more about STEM topics like engineering and computing alongside arts topics and exploring how these topics can be deeply interconnected. 

Where can people learn more about you and your work?

More information about our collective and our work can be found in our Instagram account: instagram.com/helloplaycollective

The post Meet the Makers: Hello Play Collective appeared first on Chibitronics.

Today we are featuring a special post by guest blogger, Taryn, who is known in the craft world as Krafti Karma! Taryn has come up with a clever way to create a light-up scene inside of a mason jar, using a crafty switch!

Hi! I’m Taryn, and I live in Northern California with my family and my adorable Samoyed, Tsuki. I’m a freshman in high school, and I LOVE to craft! Crafting has always been one of my passions, and I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember. A few years ago, I started a small business to sell my crafts and raise money for causes and organizations that are important to me. I’ve now grown it into Krafti Karma, and I have Etsy shop where I hope to continue raising money and giving back to the community. Crafting brings me so much joy, and I’m so excited to share that joy with you through my projects and tutorials! I hope you enjoy!

How to Make a Mason Jar Fairy House

Hi everyone! This is Taryn with Krafti Karma.

Today I wanted to show you how to make these light up mason jar crafts. They’re a great craft for both kids and adults, and the possibilities are endless! This project features Chibitronics Pressure Sensitive Conductive Plastic, to create a really neat on/off dimming effect. Hope you enjoy!

View Video Tutorial

1. Gather Materials

To start out, you’ll need a mason jar, Conductive Fabric Tape or Copper Tape, Chibitronics LED stickers, a three volt coin battery, foam tape, scissors, glue, washi or painter’s tape (if you have a metal cap), a Sharpie, and whatever figurines and scenery you want to use on the inside.

Optional materials are Chibitronics Pressure Sensitive Conductive Plastic, a small square of fabric that can comfortably fit over the cap of your jar, and ribbon which I’ll be using.

2. Design Scene

The first thing we are going to do is design our scene inside the mason jar. This part is really up to you to design, but I would recommend making a sketch or a rough draft first before putting everything into your final mason jar. Also make sure that everything you want to add fits in the jar. Once you have a good idea of what you want to do, you can start assembling things in place in the mason jar. Feel free to experiment with placement inside the jar and don’t feel like you have to glue everything down right away.

3. Draw Circuit & Make Battery Housing

[To see a detailed demonstration of how to draw your circuit and make the battery housing, please watch the video.]

Note: If you have a one-piece cap, this will still work the same way but you’ll just have to wrap everything around the inner rim of your cap and then continue it on the outside of the rim and onto the top of the cap.

4. Add Washi Tape for Underneath the Circuit

Now that we are done drawing out a blueprint for our circuit, we are going to stick down a layer of washi tape where our Conductive Fabric or Copper Tape is going to go, so that the metal cap does not contact the conductive tape and mess with the circuit or short circuit it. You can also use painters tape, but I like to use washi tape because it allows you to still see the path you drew earlier for the copper tape which will come in handy later on.

If you have a plastic or non-metal cap, you don’t need to do the washi tape step. It’s a bit difficult to get the tape to follow the circular shape of the cap, but I’m basically folding the tape back on itself, and reguiding it to go in a slightly new direction each time so that it eventually creates a round shape.

5. Add Conductive Tape, LED Stickers, and Battery

Now I’m basically going to do the same thing on top of the washi tape with the Conductive Fabric or Copper Tape just following the two separate paths. Since I used washi tape, I can still see the two lines I drew for the copper tape which is just a helpful template.

Now it’s time for the LED stickers! Depending on how large your cap is and how bright you want your mason jar to be, you can use anywhere between two to seven or eight LED stickers. After your LED stickers are secured, we are going to put the battery in the battery housing, making sure that the positive side of the battery is facing down, and check to make sure the LED stickers light up!

6. Incorporating the Pressure Sensitive Conductive Plastic

Now for the final step, we are going to incorporate the Pressure Sensitive Conductive Plastic which will allow us to dim the LED stickers on and off. If you don’t have the pressure sensitive plastic, that is okay too. You will just have an on/off mechanism rather than a dimming one, which is cool too! Back to the pressure sensitive plastic though, it’s one of my favorite Chibitronics products, and it’s so cool how it works!

The Pressure Sensitive Conductive Plastic basically acts as a mediator of electrical flow between two parts of the circuit. Here, I’m going to be placing it between the battery and one piece of copper tape. The plastic contains conductive particles that have the ability to let different amounts of electricity flow through the plastic, depending on how close together the particles are to one another. In a resting state with no pressure, the conductive particles are far from each other and don’t conduct much electricity, resulting in the LED stickers being off or very dim. However when pressure is applied, the conductive particles move closer to each other and allow more electricity to flow through, resulting in a brighter light. The harder you press, the closer the conductive particles are to one another, and the brighter the light becomes! It’s super cool how the pressure sensitive plastic works.

To find the right size for the Pressure Sensitive Conductive Plastic, cut it about the size of the battery housing, and then trim off a tiny edge on all four sides. I like to stack two pieces on top of each other because it creates a better dimming effect.

After you’ve inserted the pieces of pressure sensitive plastic to make sure they fit, you are going to add foam tape on the four corners of the battery housing to keep it from adding any additional pressure to the pressure sensitive plastic and accidentally turning your LED stickers on.

Depending on how thick your foam tape is, you might have to add a few layers. Then peel off the foam tape backing, stick down your two pieces of pressure sensitive plastic, and then stick down the top of your battery housing.

7. Final Touches

Once you’re done with the circuitry, screw the cap onto the jar, and see your entire scene come to life. Great job! For a final optional step, you can use a piece of fabric and ribbon to cover up the circuitry on the top of the cap. I like doing this because it gives it a cleaner finish, but it’s totally up to you. After doing this, you’re done!

8. Other Examples

Here are a few other examples that I made. There are a bunch of different variations you can do with using different LED stickers like colored ones for example, or changing up the size of your mason jar to make smaller or bigger scenes. The possibilities are endless, so have fun experimenting!

The post Guest Post: Mason Jar Fairy House with LED Stickers & a Pressure Switch appeared first on Chibitronics.

When we first saw Celeste Moreno’s Light Up Nicho (Shadow Box) on Twitter (@CeMoCreates), we knew we had to let her know that we were impressed! When we asked whether she might be interested in sharing her process, she graciously agreed to be one of our first guest bloggers!

We are excited to share her fabulous new tutorial, How to Make a Light Up Nicho (Shadow Box).

The post New Tutorial from Guest Designer/ Maker Celeste Moreno! appeared first on Chibitronics.