We Asked Kids To Help Build Our Art Exhibit in Chelsea And This Is What Happened…

From June 10th - June 27th, 2019 we hosted a Pop-Up at the Highline Nine Galleries in Chelsea to build “Wavemakers: A Festival of Light and Sound”. With each visitor, the space sprouted new projects; leading to a final festival at the end of the month featuring the creations of child innovators. There were no instructions to follow, no time limit, and no judgement. 

At our Pop-Up, the first thing we asked kids was “What do you think we need for the festival?” Some kids knew what they wanted to create and started exploring and building immediately, while others took a minute to think, looked at the materials available for inspiration, and then began creating. But some kids were simply hesitant by this prompt. Rarely are kids given the agency to create what they want today, especially outside of the confines of their own playroom. But at The GIANT Room, there are no rules, no directions, and most importantly, there’s endless craft supplies and accessible electronics to make their ideas possible. 

We quickly learned once we gave kids the tools and our trust, their creations exceeded our expectations.

Each day of the Pop-Up started with open studio hours, where kids and their families began with a blank canvas, building creations using any of the materials in the room. starting with a simple piece of paper and markers or poms poms and popsicle sticks. But as they started to build, they spotted the electronics showcased in projects around the room and quickly became intrigued. After a brief tutorial and some tinkering, kids enhanced their initial creation by adding something as simple as an LED, to programming a playable violin with Makey Makey. 

To help kids grow their skills beyond the Open Studio, a series of workshops were held each afternoon. The Pop-Up kicked off with a sold-out art workshop led by Herve Tullet; french artist and author of the New York Times best selling children’s picture book “Press Here”. Kids watched in awe as Herve Tullet broke all the rules and ripped up pieces of paper, splattered paint, and doodled outside of the lines. They quickly followed suit; taping together contrasting scraps with colorful duct tape, drawing bright creations on cellophane, and finally, sharing their creations with Herve Tullet himself. 

Several workshops were led by GIANT co-founders, Dr. Azi Jamalian, and Dr. Jessica Mezei on topics including Build And Code Musical Instruments, Code Robots to Play Music or Make Art, Design Critiquing Around The Campfire, Curious Waves with Fruits and Veggies, and Harness the Sun’s Waves. Additionally, guest artists stopped by to share their expertise, including a Sewing Workshop with Dr. Ronah Harris, an Improv Workshop with Mary Lemmer, and a Rap Workshop with Raegen Sealy.

By the time our doors opened for the festival, the room was filled with unexpected creations; 

a motion sensored tiny house…

a talking magical unicorn….

an electric violin....

a dinosaur costume…

a GIANT piano…

Here’s what we learned:

Kids have big ideas about what to make and how to make it

Many of our participants had very clear visions for their projects, and as adults, it was our role to step back and let them run with their own ideas. When we asked kids what supplies they needed, they typically knew exactly what they wanted. When we encouraged kids to take the lead, we found they were quite confident in their plans, from the big picture of what they wanted to build to to small details like what color the tape should be. 

When we put technology and craft materials side by side, kids didn’t look at them differently. 

At The GIANT Room, we treat art supplies and technology materials in the same way; tools to create and in service of kids’s ideas. Kids had access to markers, poms-poms, glue sticks, cardboard boxes, scissors, paints, and glow sticks, as well as motors, LEDs, wheels, robotics, and electronic building blocks, sensors, and micro boards! Technology wasn’t viewed as a mysterious black box; to the kids, it was simply another supply that they deemed necessary to bring their vision to life. 

Kids are craving unstructured activities

Without prompts or time constraints, we noticed kids truly flourished. Parents were amazed with how focused their kids could be and what they created. Often, parents struggled to pull their kids away from their work. We heard from parents that there was nothing like this in NYC - a place where you could stop in at anytime, get messy, and work side by side. 

Parents enjoy making too! 

Every once in a while a hesitant parent would come up and ask “Can I make something too?” Of course! We loved seeing parents working alongside their kids, but working on their own projects. And sometimes they’d collaborate, whether a child needed help with scissors, or a parent needed help with littleBits, they worked together to bring their projects to life.