I usually use my trusty laptop to record kids' voices for animations. It usually works out really well, and picks up the kids' voices even when they're speaking softly. But I ran into a problem this time around at the summer camp. There was a super annoying buzzing sound in the hall where I started… Continue reading Bad audio, all the time
Author: mh
GIS and Blender at once
Two of my favorite pieces of software are QGIS - used for making maps on a computer - and Blender 3D - used for 3D animations. Both of these pieces of software, furthermore, are open-source. That means they are free for anyone to download. Every time I make an animation with a group of kids,… Continue reading GIS and Blender at once
Five-year-olds computer animating
Is there a minimum age-limit when it comes to computer animation? Well, I'm sure there is for toddlers and babies, but in the summer camp I'm in, there's three little kids that are entering kindergarten in September. They're all five. They reach out their hand for me to hold if I chance to walk them… Continue reading Five-year-olds computer animating
Animating at a summer camp
I had written a dour and grim post about the futility of applying to grants, but before it went live, I actually received one. Which means I was able to do one more 'Animations with kids' project in Concord before my run here ends (at least for the expected near future.) I am working with… Continue reading Animating at a summer camp
Animations of geology
In the last few weeks, I made one of the coolest things I ever made in Blender: these planetary marbles rolling towards each other while swirling inside: planetary marbles in #blender3d #b3d #planetaryScience #evolvingEarth pic.twitter.com/CzKp2Fi7wz — Lila Gardiner (@lilagardiner) June 9, 2019 And before that, I made a volcano and a glacier. I've been blendering… Continue reading Animations of geology
Helping out at the Science Festival
We had a "Science Festival" on Union Street, and I got to share about my Animations with Kids project. In typical fashion, I started making my poster about 5 hours before the event started. (But I got it done in time!) Now, I'm pretty proud of my poster, because in keeping with the environmental theme… Continue reading Helping out at the Science Festival
Making people in Blender 3D
My first attempts at making people in Blender looked like this: a came up with a baby with a detachable head. She lost one of her cheeks, and she had no hands and non-moving arms. However, she's still pretty cute, isn't she? Then I moved on to these teenagers: They're pretty cute, too! I then… Continue reading Making people in Blender 3D
Of backwards heads and mixed-race couples: Animations with kids
I had two more interesting experiences with "The grass is not trash" worth mentioning ... https://youtu.be/YjXTnnfmNuw First, did you notice that the brother has a white girlfriend? When we got to that page of the animation, I myself hadn't really decided what the girlfriend should look like. So I told the Latina girl I was… Continue reading Of backwards heads and mixed-race couples: Animations with kids
Pretty clothes clashing with science?
I like pretty clothes. However, in one of my "Animations with kids", I made a video with the second-graders at MacAllister Elementary called "A handbook to taking care of the earth." And in that movie, it kind of sets up a conflict between doing good in school/being conscientious versus fashion. I didn't want to make… Continue reading Pretty clothes clashing with science?
Animations with kids: do the kids actually learn anything?
The main idea of "Animations with kids" is that the kids learn some science in a friendly, storytelling way. So when I was writing the story for "Mr. Glump and the poisonous pond", I had hopes that the second-graders, and anyone watching the film, would come away knowing exactly how algae kills fish: that when… Continue reading Animations with kids: do the kids actually learn anything?
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