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About This Program

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Crankie Contraptions: Telling Stories with Screen Machines

Artist

FutureMakers

Program Type

Family Engagement Workshop

A 45-minute family workshop for K to 8 learners where caregivers and learners each build their own folding cardboard story machine with a hand-cranked paper scroll (parallel play, one Crankie per participant). After folding the frame and installing the scroll, every maker plans an illustrated sequence or narrative, transfers it to the scroll, and performs the story for the room. Families practice the engineering design process (ask, imagine, plan, create, improve) and walk away with a finished Crankie and the language to keep telling new stories at home.

Technical Requirements

Technical Needs, Virtual
Zoom (or comparable platform) with screen-sharing for the slide deck
Document camera or a second camera angled at the teaching artist's hands for the fold demonstrations
Stable wifi
Each participating family must have received their Crankie Contraptions kits in advance, plus household scissors, pencils, markers, and a flat workspace
One Crankie kit per participant (one for the caregiver, one for the learner)
Recommended: a quiet space; an adult co-pilot for each learner

Technical Needs, In Person
A flat table for each participant (about 2 ft x 2 ft per maker)
Chairs (one per participant)
A projector or large screen for the slide deck
Standard lighting; no AV booth required
Trash/recycling bin for paper scraps
A demo table in front of the room with the teaching artist's example Crankie

Venue provides:

Scissors (one per participant)
Pencils for sketching the story plan and drafting on the scroll
Art supplies (markers, colored pencils, or crayons) for finishing the scroll