Musical Arrays

What does a rectangle with an area of 15 centimeters squared, and a perimeter of 16 centimeters sound like? 

How would the sound change if the area stayed the same, but the perimeter changed?

Music Board begins with a black grid. When users click squares, they light up and play musical notes.

According to the game's creator, Music Board is a "free, open source game." Computers and software cost money, but there are lots of creative souls out there who believe it all should be free. For everyone.

Click any of the images above, or right here to begin constructing sound.

Origami Peace Crane

This Prezi includes a paper folding video tutorial, and history of the origami peace crane.  Please allow a few minutes for the video to load.

Jim Denevan's Enormous Natural Art

Jim Denevan creates enormous works of natural art with sticks and rakes (often barefooted). Click here to explore his beautiful and ephemeral work.

Storybird

Which creative styles below speak to you?

Part of Chase Street's language arts program encourages students to "read the pictures." Storybird offers an engaging opportunity for kids to do just that. Choose from hundreds of artists, sequence a set of illustrations as you wish, then write a narrative that matches the images.

Storybird also allows pairs of users to collaborate. Students will receive their usernames and temporary passwords soon, but if you're feeling creative right, now click here to get started on your own.

Shinichi Maruyama

Morning messages this week include art created in less than ten seconds. Shinichi Maruyama's photography captures the beauty of liquid in mid-air. Click here to see more of his work.

From Computer Generated Origami, to Architecture

littleBits and the Classroom Tinkerer

This week the class will vote for the year's first Classroom Tinkerer. The student who gets nominated and receives the most votes will take home a littleBits kit to create imaginative DIY projects. 

The job requires planning, trial and error, and writing… yes, writing. A maker's journal is also part of the kit, where the Tinkerer will illustrate and write about project design and process. Click here to see past classroom tinkerers' unique creations.

Nano Origami

German artist Anja Markiewics creates beautiful sculptures with paper squares less than an inch across. Click here for more miniature works of art.

Vanessa Gould's documentary film Between the Folds showcases renown origami artists around the world.  Click here to watch the trailer.  To read a review, click here.

Create Your Own Comic!

Make your own strip or book by selecting a background (setting), characters, and speech/thought bubbles to move the plot along. Customize with different templates, fonts, and even sound effects. Click the image above, or right here to get the creative juices flowing.

 

Mr. Brooks' Silver Surfer Spring Break Comic Strip

Desktop Gremlins and Cubee Craft

Desktop Gremlins offers free paper sculptures you can build without glue, tape or knives.  Each character has a unique story, and there is even one for Kazu Kibuishi's Amulet graphic novel!

Print them on 8.5 x 11 photo paper, cut out the pieces, then put it together.  Click the images above, or right here to get started.

Cubeecraft offers foldable figurines from popular movies, games and TV shows.  The cuts are more challenging than Desktop Gremlins, and require parents' help.  Click the figures below, or right here to see more free, downloadable characters.

BLA BLA

My sister went to film school, so she shares films and links with kids in mind. BLA BLA was created to be watched and interacted with on a computer. 

According to the National Film Board of Canada, "Vincent Morisset’s BLA BLA is an interactive tale that explores the fundamental principles of human communication. The viewer makes the story possible: without him or her, the characters remain inert, waiting for the next interaction. The spectator clicks, plays and searches through the simple, uncluttered scenes, truly driving the experience. Each of the six chapters in the story depicts a different aspect of communication: learning a language, making small talk, expressing emotions, etc. Rich in opportunities for discovery, BLA BLA illustrates these concepts through endearing yet perplexing characters. The figures were designed by Caroline Robert using a variety of techniques, both traditional and hi-tech."

Click the image above, or right here to experience this unique film.

James Burchfield Plays Invisible Turntables

Animation, Zoetropes, and Bicycles

Long before Spongebob, a toy called the zoetrope introduced the world to animation. The video above explains how it works.

Katy Beveridge creates zoetropes on bicycles in the video above. After watching, enjoy a song created by Johnnyrandom. Instead of instruments, every sound is made with bicycle parts...

Kinetic (Moving) Sculptures

Imagine your classmates creating works of art like this one day...

Stop Motion by PES

Fresh Guacamole is the shortest film ever nominated for an Academy Award. Enjoy more by a stop-motion master…

Jackson Pollock

Click here to visit the site and create your own abstract art.

To read about Jackson Pollock's life, and see some of his paintings, click here.  Enjoy!

Cello-Beatbox Experience

 For all the music lovers...

Choros

"In the tradition of Marey and McLaren, Michael Langan and Terah Maher combine music, dance, and image multiplication to create a film that enhances our perception of motion. "Choros" delivers a visually mesmerizing narrative in three movements, following a dancer's (Maher) experience of discovery, euphoria, and rebirth through this surreal phenomenon. Featuring music from Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians."

-Langan Films

Animated Short Films by Joanna Lurie

"The life of two characters who follow each other beyond the walls."

-Joanna Lurie

"Oscar-shortlisted for Best Animated Short. In the depths of a great forest clad in a great white mantle, curious little creatures discover how beautiful, fascinating and white snow is… as it whirls them giddily on their way to extraordinary encounters with the strange and wonderful. A nocturnal tale brimming with tenderness."

-Joanna Lurie

Jack Invokes Goldsworthy

Jack uses sticks, stones, pine needles, soil, and rosemary to spell social studies vocabulary. The varied textures are wonderful.

Click here to discover Andy Goldsworthy's amazing natural art.