From my Inbox to you, courtesy of Virginia Tech.

Museum’s ‘Second Saturday Science’ program to showcase exhibitions from the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology

Children of all ages will have the opportunity to experiment with robotic flowers that respond to light and touch at the "Second Saturday Science" program.

BLACKSBURG – The Institute of Creativity, Arts, and Technology will be taking some of its projects on the road, bringing a group of interactive exhibitions that merge creative technologies with the arts and education to the Science Museum of Western Virginia for its “Second Saturday Science” program on April 14 at 11 a.m.

Children of all ages will have the opportunity to virtually visit a Native American village near Jamestown, Va., during the time of early English settlement; see their dance moves transformed into digital art; and experiment with robots that respond to light and touch, among other activities.

The event, which will be held at the museum’s current location on the upper level of Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke, Va., is the result of a budding partnership between the institute and the Science Museum of Western Virginia.

The exhibitions will showcase the following projects:

• Prototyping in Architectural Robotics for Technology-Enriched Education
  This project focuses on the ways sensors and computers can be used to monitor various external factors (sounds, heat, light, movement, etc.) to create a building that reacts to both its inhabitants and the surrounding natural environment.
• Movement through Music and Visual Arts
  This innovative custom software encourages participants to respond to music with dance and motion. Movements captured on camera are then converted into visual representations on a digital canvas of artistic expression.
• Interactive Taiji
  Combining the physical and mental benefits of taiji (tai chi) movements with traditional Chinese music, this interactive multimedia arts game incorporates the use of webcam technology and software algorithms to drive the simulation by monitoring posture and movements.
• Virtual Jamestown: The Paspahegh Village
  The virtual project is a 3-D visualization of a Native American village near Jamestown. The layout and artifacts of the village are entirely based on archaeological data, illustrations, and journals from the period. Users can navigate through the village and explore as if they were colonists or Native Americans to get a feel for what life was like in the time of early English settlement.
• Merging Arts and Engineering via Rapid Prototyping
  This project highlights the links between the arts and engineering, demonstrating how both artists and engineers can work together. Using prototyping, participants can become designers without limits, creating products without fear of physical or creative boundaries. The concept of prototyping spans multiple disciplines, including robotics, simple and compound machines, 3-D computer modeling, and material science.
• Rhythmatical: A Participatory Platform for Creative Expression in Mathematics and Music
  This application combines math instruction with the aural, tactile, kinesthetic components of music-making using the latest technology. Participants tap and shake a handheld mobile device to make music and practice the concept of greatest common factor.
• Sound Fields
  Participants explore the nature of fields, including magnetic fields and sound fields by interacting with a field of virtual flowers that respond to a sound’s direction, frequency, and intensity. This project helps children develop an understanding of the characteristics of sound waves.

Each exhibition has been developed by Virginia Tech students and faculty associated with the Integrated Design + Education + Arts Studio. The studio, which is composed of instructional designers affiliated with the School of Education in Virginia Tech’s College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, is part of the Institute for Creativity, the Arts, and Technology research and development hubs. The studio works with pre-kindergarten through 12th grade teachers and Virginia Tech faculty investigating methods and tools to enhance learning as well as critical and creative thinking in the classroom.

A university-level research institute sitting at the nexus of the arts, design, engineering, and science, the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology is the research arm of the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech. By forging a pathway between transdisciplinary research and art, educational innovation, and scientific and commercial discovery, the institute works to foster the creative process to create new possibilities for exploration and expression through learning, discovery, and engagement. This includes preparing students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education environments to succeed in a world that demands teamwork and collaboration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines, promoting new research domains that transcend institutionalized boundaries, and participating with people of all ages in the process of co-creation.