[MUSIC] So that's an example of what it feels like to be in a room where people are building scribbling machines. But a lot goes on behind the scenes. We spent quite a lot of time designing this activity, choosing the right materials, creating an environment for this to exist, and of course, the facilitation in terms of how we're supporting people to build these, is pretty important. So we'd like to unpack those things for you in the next segment. [BLANK_AUDIO] >> The experimental design element involved in scribbling machines is something else we really value. This are really new to everyone that encounters them and it's a really strange activity, so you tend to not know how to go about it initially when you encounter this stuff. And we don't give instructions in a very step by step way. You sort of dive in and build things and alter them based on how they perform. There is a lot of trial and error that goes into the designs of scribbling machines. They're iterative. This iteration, it's really required. You make a subtle adjustment, test it out. Then you make another adjustment based on what you see, and this continues over and over again. And it's something that you don't get too attached to any one design. You sort of test as you go along. One of the things that I really value is how silly it is. They're really kind of ridiculous little machines. It's a silly approach to circuits. It's actually quite fun to watch what people come up with, and each individual person creates a machine that's specific to them. And they take on a personality when you get to watch them jitter across the table. One of the nice things about doing scribbling machines in, in a group is you tend to learn from all sorts of designs that are happening around the table. And then the machines themselves take on a performance quality and you sort of look at what other people are trying and get inspired to try new things yourself. [BLANK_AUDIO] >> When it comes to the environment for scribbling machines, we've adopted some solutions that you'll find are consistent across the activities we like to do. So for this one as well, we'd like to use a large round table. It becomes a communal space where people can sit around, work together, and look across the table at each other while they are building contraptions. We find that encourages the sharing of ideas as well as creating a social environment that we really value. So whenever possible, we try to communicate the idea that there is a variety of possible outcomes without really actually having to say so. One good way to do that is to see the table with examples that are varied in the types of movement that they show. And it's worthwhile to spend some time in the beginning of a session to just build some examples that are very different from each other. In the years that we're trying to do this activity we've experimented ourselves with various ways of placing materials and working stations. We found that a lot of times people like to build and test right in the same spot. They don't like to have two separate places to do that. And so rather than trying to force people in an uncomfortable situation we've accommodated for that by covering this large communal table in the white sheets of paper. That way people can have the majority of the material right in front of them, build their contraption, and test them right way. One of the drawbacks of having such a large communal table is that it quickly becomes covered in scribbles. So, sometimes people like to have a clean surface to see their drawing on and we try to accommodate for that when we can. One easy way to do that is to put a large sheet of paper on the ground and then just put a hula hoop on top so that the scribble machine has a border or a limit to where it can range. [BLANK_AUDIO] >> The facilitation of scribbling machines is important to us because it's the mediator between the learner or the maker and the objects that they're creating. It's really our opportunity to help in the process and to encourage crazy ideas and to help applaud what's built and share it around the table. >> One thing I discovered through doing this many times is that they way you introduce the activity actually influences the type of contraptions that end up being made. One key difference is whether you encourage people to try to make a connection between a battery and a motor first or you encourage people to pick a container or base for their contraption and think about what kind of shape or what kind of motion that contraption might have. Neither one is better than the other. But just to keep in mind, that those are two different approaches you might experiment with each and see which one yields the results that you're looking for. >> Look around the room and point out some of the variety that you're seeing. The way people attach their markers or how a motor is situated and attached. You know, there are, there are different aspects of design that you can, kind of point out if something you appreciate or something that might be helpful to another person's scribbling machine. >> One thing I like to do early on in the experience is to just have people attach their motor to their offset weight and hold it and connect it to their battery in their hand so they can really feel the vibration. And then I ask them to imagine what might be constructed when they use a strawberry basket or some other device as the body of their machine. >> When we do this activity, we don't treat as a traditional make and take where people assemble a thing and then they're done and walk away with it. We actually recycle all of the parts and also find that people, when they aren't just getting to the end so they can bring it home, they actually want to try different things and pay attention to things in a completely different way. Working on their design and their iterations and really paying attention to what the machine can do based on the changes that they make to it. One thing I'd really encourage you to do is allow people some time, time to get familiar with these materials and how they work. How to assemble them. You know, they're, they're footsie, and you need to allow time for this, and people are going to get things wrong, that's just a part of the nature of tinkerng but also scribbling machines in particular. >> We do everything we can to encourage makers around the table to pay close attention to the minute changes that they're making when they are constructing and testing the scribbling machines. Often times a tiny change on their construction will have a big impact on the machine moves around the table and makes its drawing. [SOUND] One facilitation tip that requires probably the most practice is to resist the urge to jump in and, and help somebody when they're in trouble too quickly. It might be nice to sort of stand back a little bit to see how they might approach solving the problem they've encountered. You'll learn a lot more about what they're thinking by seeing what they do to try to solve that. And if they do solve it the payoff for the learner is much greater. Of course, we don't want people to linger in that frustration moment too long. So we will step in, and lend a helping hand, but working with the learner rather than trying to impose our own idea about what the solution might be. [MUSIC]