Brooksie’s Blog

Introduction
Invention at Play is a traveling and online exhibit from the Lamelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation , a division within the Smithsonian National Museum of American History . The exhibit seeks to break down the belief that inventors represent geniuses and thus special kinds of humans- that we can find invention and innovation within each and every one of us. The online exhibit uses Flash interactives to explore this concept in a very practical manner.

While all the interactives consist of fascinating and engaging, although not the most original, I felt the Tinker Ball interactive holds the site’s ideals closest to its core.

Tinker Ball
Tinker Ball represents a very simple premise: get the ball into the “cup” at the bottom of the screen using only those items provided in the box on the right. It seems easy but once you realize that, no, video game physics where items stick to one another and stop spontaneously at goal do not apply, it becomes more interesting. You must slow the ball down and guide it just so in order that it comes to rest within the “cup.”

Figuring it out the first time probably means some frustration but it can be done. Once you do, you can find an almost infinite number of ways to get the ball in the “cup.” It teaches strategy and certainly innovation. It does so in a very concrete and practical sense- the next best thing to actually dropping a ball.

Here’s how to use Tinker Ball:
1. Go to http://www.inventionatplay.org/index.html.
2. Click on Tinker Ball in the lefthand navigation column.
3. Make sure to read the comments in purple to the right of the screen to get a better sense of this interactive’s purpose. The explanation of how the items move in the center of the screen which displays two pipes only tells you part of the directions- see my Objects Explanation below.
4. Click on “play now.”
5. Use items to get ball to come to rest in the cup.

6. You can reset to the beginning at any time by clicking the “start over” button.
Objects Explanations
hammer, baseball bat, hockey stick: merely surfaces with different resiliency properties; they do not interact with gears.

gears: will rotate either way depending upon which direction the ball is going.

tin cans: surfaces only; they are closed on both ends and can stop the ball fairly quickly if it lands on an end or provide a quick and variable reflective surface.

hinged boards: can adjust angle of each end of board in 45 degree increments (45, 90, 135, 180). one is longer than the other but both have the same resilience. fairly effective in slowing the ball down.

springs: they make the ball spring back up into the air

Learning Uses
Not only will this interactive help develop innovation and problem-solving but it could also find uses in basic physics courses and even team-building exercises where people might collaborate on how best to get the ball in the cup.

One could even be innovative with the interactive itself by changing the goal. For example, instead of getting the ball to rest in the cup, you could see if there is a way to get the ball to rest in the extreme right corner or touching the entry ramp or on a can in the middle of the screen, etc.

However, a project that involves making and gathering “real world” materials found in the online interactive to make an actual Tinker Ball would involve collaboration, problem-solving, and contrasting between the online experience and the practical “real world” experience. The physics would be different, the parameters of making such a “live” interactive would be vastly different, and the very act of making it would prove educational.

Instructions
1. Find a baseball bat, tennis ball, claw hammer, hockey stick, springs (from an old couch or mattress), wooden boards, hinges, PVC 90 degree elbow pipes that will fit a tennis ball, large funnels, 2×4s, a large ceramic bowl, several square feet of peg board, and large sheet of plexiglass.
2. Do some preliminary testing to find out the exact measurements needed.
3. Cut the boards into 5 rectangles and 2 6-spoke gears. Attach the rectangles with the hinges to make them like the hinged boards in the interactive. The 5th board will be the entry board for the ball.
4. Build a box with the 2×4s and peg board. Leave the top open and mount the plexiglas on one side.
5. Mount the entry board near the upper left corner of the box.
6. Drill holes in the pieces to allow them to be hung on the peg board in various positions.
7. Test it out!
8. Write a detailed explanation of the planning, building, and testing processes and how the actual Tinker Ball differed from the online version.