ADP - Wk8- Play and Sounds

Week 8:

Theme: Play and Sound

Context:

For this topic, I want to do something a tad distinct so I have decided to build a small automaton with found objects in my apartment.

Ever since the discovery of fire, humans have taken advantage of Nature’s forces to do tasks which are beyond their capabilities. The quest to find new methods to harness the renewable energy continues until this day. Waterwheel is one of the most powerful ancient machines for extremely heavy labors. It was invented by the Greek and used throughout centuries. Though it is not performing the tasks which it was invented for as often as before, waterwheel is considered to be more of a decoration by the modern time. A lot of smaller versions of it serve as garden ornaments and go by the name “Relaxation waterwheel”.

Unfortunately, waterwheel requires water source and it can be quite untidy since accident happens around fluids a lot of time. As a result, I have decided to convert water power into wind power. I have found a tutorial about DIY a musical waterwheel and put in efforts to hack it.

Method:

I divide the system into small modules then start crafting each part. Later, I assemble them.

Response:

I produce my own relaxation wind-wheel using cereal boxes, garden pinwheel, chopsticks and Redbull cans.

Reflection:

I do not think that my apparatus is a “relaxation” device because it sounds very annoying. It has different tones and pitch but it performs like an amateur band which disappoints me greatly.

The notion of play for the topic is Tinker. In 350 BCE, Aristotle wrote, "for the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them." Hands on activities offer a lot of learning opportunities via practical experience and it is less stressful than any other form of learning. Kinesthetic learning means practicing the skills and putting the learnt knowledge to the test. While engaging in crafting my relaxation wind-wheel, I learn to patiently observe the waterwheel model in order to spot which part I can modify. This encourage me to do further research on turbine structure and reviews some principles of Physics such as momentum and torque. The experiments I conduct help me to self-correct any concepts which I have misunderstood before. This somewhat improves my retention of information. I can memorize them better and longer then be able to apply them to resolve any problem I encounter.