November 1, the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) hosted a party to showcase projects from “Family Creative learning”, a workshop series developed at MIT, for children and parents to learn together — as designers and inventors — through the use of creative technologies.
Families had participated in a series of five 2-hour evening workshops. Each workshop began with dinner followed by a collaborative design activity using creative technology learning tools: the visual programming language Scratch and easy-to-use invention kits known as MaKey MaKey.
With Scratch, people can create their own interactive stories, games, and animations. With MaKey MaKey, families can interface with computers, using everyday objects that conduct electricity (such as fruits or Play-Doh).
Over the course of the series, parents and kids came together – as designers and inventors – to be creative, inventive, and imaginative, learning to not only use new technologies, but also create their own. The November 1 party gave families a fun opportunity to invite friends and share their projects with the community.