Driving Question: How might we explore innovation through robotics?

What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?

Our goals were to create a contactless delivery robot and pitch it to a panel of experts. With the help of the robotics team from the workshops, we learned all the basic concepts to create our own innovation.

What new things did you learn about yourself?

It was really interesting to realize that we were capable of coding, and we loved using our hands to create a robot.

Driving Question: How might we explore innovation through robotics?

What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?

Our goal for this module was to create a working robot completed with a prototype and functioning code. We spent lots of time brainstorming and sketching ideas for this robot. We also wanted to make sure our robot was super unique and one of a kind.

Our final prototype was a success and could perform the actions that it was intended to do. Our robot is also innovative because it is different than anything you will see on the current market.

What new things did you learn about yourself?

I learned that I should be more open to failures and feedback since those things could only help. My thoughts before were “get everything right” or “no mistakes,” now, I am open to failure and will welcome it with open arms.

What are your big takeaway lessons from this project?

The biggest lesson for me is that everything is a process, and nothing amazing can come from nothing.

Driving Question: How can we represent the evolution of leftist movements in Mexico through a zine?

Project Summary: Ella and Luiza’s project is about the evolution of leftism in Mexico, especially in the region of Oaxaca. They explored the Mexican Revolution, the Feminist Movement in Mexico, and the future of Indigenous leadership throughout the term, which cumulated in a final zine showcasing their learning.

Student Reflection:
“I loved this project. Truly, I cannot describe how proud I am of this Zine and the work Luiza and I accomplished. Also, there is no way to describe the joy and relaxation of sitting cutting out magazines for hours on end; it is the best thing ever.”- Ella M.

Driving Question: How can I preserve a part of Zapotec history and give it a new life in the form of VR experiences?

Project Summary:

Aarushi and Alex’s video focused on the Central Valley of Oaxaca and the civilization that emerged known as the “Be’ena’ Za” or “The Cloud People.” The Be’ena’ Za thrived and became one of the largest civilizations in Mesoamerica, and today they are known as the Zapotec.

Alex and Aarushi introduce viewers to the world of the Zapotec through a VR experience. Their video takes you back in time on a journey into the magnificent city of Monte Albán. The pair invite you to embrace the wisdom of the Zapotec through astrology, religious, and ancient beliefs.

Student Reflection: This module was really exciting for me. I learned a lot of new things and added multiple new subjects to my skill set. This module was also extremely challenging since I had no real prior knowledge about virtual reality or archaeology, but because of our excursions and guest speakers, I was able to create a video VR experience which I am extremely proud of!”- Aarushi A.

Driving Question: How can I use video to present my investigations (SPEED factors) into the lives of the Zapotec people of Oaxaca, Mexico?

Project Summary: In this project, Zoya looked at the lives of the Zapotec community in Oaxaca, and how their lives are impacted by their exposure to Spanish. Her film explores the different aspects of Spanish language exposure (in education, economy, and stigma) and what it meant for the Zapotec people, with a question left to the audience: What does the future look like for the Zapotec?

Driving Question: How can I use video to present my investigations (SPEED factors) into the lives of the Zapotec people of Oaxaca, Mexico?

Project Summary: For his project, Diego focused on the death of indigenous languages in Oaxaca and how the Zapotec people are fighting to keep their language alive, despite the odds.

Student Reflection:
“Even though I live in Mexico, exploring another side of the culture was really interesting, such as language death. Connecting with people and learning about the story was something special that I can’t really put into words.”

Driving Question: How can I engineer the strongest bridge with the most efficient use of the specified material?

Module Overview: Bridges are perhaps the most challenging and fascinating feats of engineering. 

In this module, students became civil and structural engineers by working at the Manchego Fromage Consultancy, where they were responsible for coming up with the most efficient bridge design. 

Students strived to creatively meet their imaginary client’s needs within budget and material constraints. The clients were the City of Rodentia, working in partnership with the Rodent Migration Travel Group. 

In learning about bridge types, students explored the effect of tension and compressive forces, differentiated between brittle and ductile material properties, and investigated the calculations that go into designing bridges. 

Marily M.

I enjoyed the module so much. I love creating and building things, so I had lots of fun building some testing bridges and the final one. I faced some challenges I didn’t think would happen, but I found a way to deal with them.

For this module, we designed and built a spaghetti bridge basing ourselves on our client’s needs from the “City of Rodentia”. I learned about bridge types, the effect of tension and compression, and the calculations that need to be considered to design a bridge. This knowledge helped me design a strong and effective bridge.

My final product is an Open Tender, which is the proposal for our “clients.” It includes the price, design, 2D and 3D model, calculations, and other information pieces.

Diego M.

I learned how much I like to design things and make them physically. It was enjoyable and challenging to build a bridge with pasta because you need to consider many factors and develop techniques to build the strongest bridge.

This project allowed me to learn about the different types of bridges and the engineering process and what it includes (different studies from the area, forces of members, strength to weight ratio, etc.)

Based on our investigations, we had to experiment with building pasta trusses to see what works, what doesn’t work, and which type of bridge truss was stronger than the others.

We created and proposed an open tender to the fictitious Rodent Migration Travel Group after running our experiments.

Driving Question: How might we produce a product or concept that contributes to a more sustainable fashion future?

Final Product: My summative product for this module was a textile art rug bag that visually incorporated ideas of punk and queer fashion. The bag itself is sort of a tote bag style and on each side there is a different design that I hand punched. For the “punk” side of the bag I designed a traditionally punk aesthetic image of an eye, a large X in front of it, and the words “F**k off”. When designing this, I wanted to keep in mind the traditional punk look as well as the values of being anti-capitalist, anti-oppression, and just generally living outside of the traditional social norms. For the other side of the bag, I wanted to express more ideas of the queer self and experience with a rainbow design around a stick figure body. My aim was for it to be colorful and expressive, just like the queercore fashion movements that intersected with the punk subculture. 

What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?

I wanted to have fun creating my own unique textile art piece that incorporated different subculture fashions I was interested in exploring. I also wanted to grow in my creativity and continue to make new pieces as an artist. I got to learn a lot more about the history of punk fashion and the queer community’s influence on it. I’m really happy with my final product because I think it’s a very unique piece that not only visually represents the aesthetics of this movement, but because I also made it myself, it embodies the values of the punk and queercore movements as well. 

What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?

I’m pretty new to making rugs, but I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the art form. Making this rug bag was a bit of a risk, but I’m really proud of how it turned out. I like taking creative risks and having fun with my art. In the future, I hope to continue to have fun and practice creativity with any art project I do. 

Driving Question: How can I use creative art practices to engage in discourse and dialogue on counterculture, social justice or everyday life through zines?

Project Description:

In this module I made a zine (book) about the life of Rupert Murdoch, why he does what he does, and how his influence works.

Quote:

I learned that with a little bit of inspiration and a non-judgemental audience, art becomes a lot easier.

Driving Question: How might we produce a product or concept that contributes to a more sustainable fashion future?

What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?

Across Africa, traditional prints are integral to feelings of belonging to a group, defining identities, and showing who you are. For generations, cultures around the continent have traditionally made textiles. Using my brand, I hope to show homage to these cultures and disseminate the stories behind their textiles while also using fashion as a catalyst for change to encourage more women to engage in more physical fitness.

For this project, I designed two collections for my activewear brand, Jarabi Fitness, paying homage to traditional African textiles and celebrating African culture and heritage. The designs included West Africa Kente prints and Dashiki prints. Using my platform, I also created blog posts detailing the cultural significance of the prints.

What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?

I learned that my creative process tends to veer towards putting hours of work in on one day when I feel motivated, as opposed to stretching my work out over time. Once I feel a jolt of motivation, I’m able to get a lot of things done.