Tinkering: all Summer at the Exploratorium

TINKERING: all summer at the Exploratorium

Take it Apart: Electronics
12 noon-3 p.m.
Find out exactly which parts are responsible for the paper jams, glitches, and system errors we encounter at work. In the second installment of our Take It Apart weekends, visitors will live out an IT department's worst nightmare as they take apart computers, keyboards, modems, and printers, as well as home electronics. Open to participants aged 6 and up.

	Tinkering Madness 2 p.m.
Why Things Go Wrong (1982, 30 min.), directed by Mick Jackson, is an amusing film which profiles engineer-turned-cartoonist Tim Hunkin, who also makes mechanical sculptures. Musing on why these break down has led him to some fascinating ideas about why things go wrong.
Mechanisms (1995, 15 min.), with Paul Spooner, directed by Gary Alexander, features kinetic artist Paul Spooner. This film allows us a behind-the-scenes look at the insight, humor, and experience Spooner brings to his creations.
*The Secret Life of Machines: The Office, The Photocopier, and The Fax Machine* (1993, 30 min.), by Tim Hunkin, is a TV series produced by the BBC which examines the history and workings of everyday machines. Hunkin uses cartoon animation to help explain some of the inner workings of common pieces of equipment. A looping installation in the Skylight area, adjacent to the Take It Apart: Electronics event.

Automata Kits 12 noon-4 p.m.
Also on Sun 8/15
London's Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, invites you to explore different ways of making your own automaton, a type of moving toy or sculpture powered purely through mechanics. Find out how basic mechanisms such as cams and gears can create an endless variety of mechanical movements. Then use a pulley, crank, or lever to bring your automata to life and marvel as it acts out a humorous scene.

	Tinkering with Toys 2 p.m.
Cirkustour (2003, 16 min.), by Danish filmmakers Michael and Ida Varming, is a colorful circus show featuring a cast of mint condition mechanical windup toys of every species. An award-winning short film.

Africa@Play (2002, 2 min.), by Katie Milligan and Scott Braman, is a fun portrait of children at play with an ingenious assortment of homemade toys created from recycled materials.

Note: All films will screen in the Exploratorium's McBean Theater unless otherwise noted.