Eli Whitney Museum

David Brewster (1781 - 1868) was a Scottish scientist who made both theoretical advances in the science of light and practical inventions. Play with some of his inventions this week.

Learn the basics of Blender, a professional, open source 3D modeling and animation toolkit. Blender is used to create animated films, visual effects, art, 3D printed models, interactive 3D applications and video games. Or expand on what you know already.

The Camera (room) obscura (darkened) is an ancient tool of scientists and artists. It will help you understand, light and vision and lenses with awesome simplicity.

Consider seeds. Collect them from our meadow. Learn to look at them with a simple low power microscope. Learn about their parts and stories from our visiting Artist/Gardner, Alexis Brown.

Develop your own computer game using MIT's Scratch, a programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art – and share your creations with others around the world. In the process of designing and programming Scratch projects, young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.

To understand seeing consider creatures who have developed eyes very different from yours. Experiment with more lenses to experience the conditions that require specialized lenses, lids, sizes and placement of eyes.

Construct a lighthouse durable enough to weather your backyard...with waterproof bricks and glue. Add its keeper and family. Install a solar powered LED lamp. Shape your light with reflectors, a lens and rotation. With stories of famous lighthouse from around the world.

Explore the basics of animation with Pivot animator and create short clips using stick figures and other simple shapes. Make a human climb a mountain, a ball navigate a marble run, or help a mime escape an invisible box. This class will go over the fundamentals of frame by frame animation, as well as walk cycles and simple bounce physics.