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The weekend that passed was an exciting one with more than 300 booths and 600 makers at Maker Faire 2016. We are privileged to be part of the event as a community partner, creating the “Dream.Imagine.plaY” space for parents and children to learn about the various maker-related projects and engage in open-ended activities and free play. The plan was to encourage children to freely use their imagination and “daydream” to create their own form of enjoyable play. The space was envisioned as a cardboard classroom with elements of tables, stools and a play area with a Dome and Tunnels.
Catch the video below for a quick tour of our Dream.Imagine.plaY space!
There was just so much to Play and Make...
One of the highlights is the Playmaker Pilot by IDA – This project aims to introduce higher order thinking skills, problem solving skills and creative thinking through the use of tech-enabled toys like robots and LittleBits. All these toys were specially selected and the children and teachers in pilot preschools were very excited to use them in their classroom. Visitors to the booth got to try out the cute BeeBot and also simple LittleBits projects.
Another exciting project is a learning project by Sarah - DreamBig Playground - A group of 9 homeschooling families came together to explore playground design through visits to various distinct playground and then thinking about the elements of playscapes and culminating in the children designing their own playground. Children who visited the booth were also invited to design their own playgrounds on paper or build and decorate one using blocks and 3M Expression tapes.
In Loose Parts Play –Loose parts such as fallen buttons, pebbles, small sea shells, etc were utilised by children in an open-ended play to decorate an open terrarium.
Yen from Discovering with Borders also came by for a simple led activity to stimulate how our brain cells are activated whenever we perform a task.
Ricky, an ideaprenuer, showcased Paper Fun – where he made various 3D paper artefacts, such as pop-up cards, wind whistle, fishing line, penalty kick player, and various paper
automata capturing the fascination and imagination of young and old alike. Many were also inspired to create their own fun with paper!
Young Smarties’ cardboard games were a huge hit with the children. Many were eagerly awaiting their turn to have a go at the games.
Para-educators from the Association for Early Childhood Educators (Singapore) were also there to showcase their very own DIY Learning Materials. Children were all very engaged by the activities.
At Preschool Market, we firmly believe that children learn best through play. Thus we hope to promote play for children from all backgrounds. Project Tinker Kit, complements the Science of Play website promoting parent-child bonding through playful activities. It provides a physical craft kit for families from less- privileged background and provide an opportunity for parent-child bonding. At this booth, you can see parent and children working together on their craft work, decorating their chalkboards with 3M Expression Tapes.
We had fun at our Dream.Imagine.plaY space where we constructed a fun and engaging activity space that truly allowed the children to enjoy themselves and at the same time learn effectively through play. We got to meet many like-minded individuals and are inspired by many. We are also very thankful to our sponsors – the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) for the creative dome, Tri-Wall (Asia) for the beautiful cardboard furniture, Juz Paint for chalkboard paint and 3M for the expressions tape. Also a big thank you to the team at Maker Faire Singapore and Science Centre Singapore for putting together this wonderful event!