Art Meets Engineering in Independent Study Project
1/12/2010
Nathaniel, Grade 8, had a problem with his independent study project on stop-motion (time-lapse) photography. He had some great software from the Tufts University Center for Engineering Education and Outreach called SAM Animation to put the images together into a movie format. How was he going to reliably take a photograph every 5 seconds in order to accurately document the subject he was trying to capture - a melting snowball? Luckily, Nathaniel had completed an independent study in the fall on LEGO Robotics. Using the knowledge he gained about building and programming robots, Nathaniel assembled a robot that would press the shutter button of his camera for him.
Both his mentors, Mr. Trinh (photography) and Mr. Hay (robotics), are impressed with Nathaniel's ability to apply his engineering skills to find a creative solution for his photography.