IdeaFestival Bowling Green 2019:
The Future Is Now

Activity Packet

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Engagement Overview Speaker Packet Activity Packet Contest Info

Below you will find descriptions for the activities scheduled as of now for IdeaFestival Bowling Green 2019. Many activity creators have also included questions for participants to think about before and after they experience the activity. Note: some activity titles and descriptions may be different in the festival program, but the activity creator listed will stay the same.

3-D Printing Pens presented by the WKU Small Business Accelerator

When your creative or artistic talents are too big to be confined to just two dimensions, try letting your imagination run wild with a 3D printing pen. Prepare for this activity by following these steps:

Step One Visit http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printing-Pen-Tutorial/ for an explanation of what 3D printing pens are and demonstrations of several applications for them:

Making 2D Sketches
Assembling 3D Objects from 2D Sketches
Creating Freehand 3D Objects in Space
Modifying and Repairing Other Plastic Objects

Step Two Think about what you want to create at the festival. What would like to see in 3D? Make a list of ideas or do a two-dimensional sketch and bring it with you.

Step Three At the festival, use your list or sketches to create your Big Ideas!

Question for Afterwards How did having a 3D representation of your idea change your conceptualization of your idea?

Adventures in Design Thinking presented by Kentucky’s Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs

Where does product development truly begin? This fun activity, anchored in design thinking, will give students a unique perspective in customer discovery and prototyping, led by the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs, the residential summer program “where creative, free-thinking teens learn and do product innovation and business model design.”

Beforehand

What should you consider before creating a prototype for a product?
Why do you think this is the most important thing to consider?

Afterwards

What should be considered first and foremost before developing a product?
How will you approach problems differently with this perspective?

Black History Month Art Exhibit presented by the WKU Intercultural Student Engagement Center

Remember, educate, and celebrate at this WKU student art show. Artists will be on hand to discuss their work.

Busy as a Bee presented by the Warren County Beekeepers

We will have small stations set up for participants to be a bee in the hive. Stations include collecting pollen and nectar, and rolling a beeswax candle for participants to take home.

Beforehand

Why are pollinators important?
In what ways are bees the perfect example of the biological definition of a superorganism?

Afterwards

How would you be impacted if bees were gone?
How can you help bees and other pollinators in your community?

Comparative Anatomy and Microscopy presented by the BioAmbassadors of the WKU Department of Biology

This station will have two activities: Students can handle and observe anatomical similarities and differences between a rat, salamander, and shark. They can also collect cells from their cheek, stain them on a microscope slide, and view their cells under a microscope.

Beforehand

What uses do microscopes have?
How are amphibians, fish, and mammals different?

Afterwards

How can you use a microscope to better understand the world around you?
How are amphibians, fish, and mammals similar?

Beyond the Bin presented by the WKU Office of Resource Conservation

Did you know each American produces an average of 4.4 pounds of trash a per day? We think that's garbage! Together, we’ll imagine a world with less waste and practical ways to live greener. Learn the ways of the Recycling Ninjas from WKU Resource Conservation as we karate chop away waste for a greener world. Reduce, Reuse, RECYCLE!

Beforehand

Where do you see waste?
How would you go about reducing waste?

Afterwards

In what ways do you view waste differently now?
How can you take your knowledge and creativity to live greener?

Dance Improvisation presented by the National Dance Education Organization, WKU Student Chapter

Students will participate in a guided improvisational movement activity. These prompts will challenge and expand student’s knowledge of what dance really is! No experience required.

Beforehand

What is dance?
What are the similarities between doing daily activities like walking or brushing your teeth to those you would consider being dance movement?

Afterwards

How would dancers communicate a feeling or a story with only their bodies? What would they change about their tempo, speed, or quality to tell someone how they are feeling?
How does it feel to create your own movement rather than following someone else’s movement?

Entrepreneurship Economics presented by the WKU Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Through a donut shop example (including some free donuts for early participants), participants will learn about costs, profit generation and how value flows into communities when entrepreneurs are successful.

Beforehand

What is the average start-up cost for a business in the US?
How can the economic situation make it easier or more difficult for entrepreneurs to launch their businesses?

Afterwards

What are some costs you hadn’t anticipated in starting a business?
How do business owners contribute to the economy of their local communities?

Exploring the World without the Sense of Sight presented by American Printing House for the Blind

Count on big laughs when you and your friends test your senses. Join APH for a modified game of Pictionary using the Graphiti, a dynamic multilevel tactile touch display that provides access to graphical information for people who are blind and visually impaired. Test your product knowledge as you figure out mystery items without using your sight.
Beforehand

How can you represent graphics for a person who cannot see?
When doing household tasks as a blind person, such as cooking, how would you figure out what could be in a box, can, or package?

Afterwards

Can you think of other uses for the Graphiti, either by blind students or by sighted students?
Can you think of ways to build accessibility into products such as cereal boxes, gift cards, soda bottles, etc.?

Idea Wall presented by the WKU Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Share your business idea on a Post-It note, and return later to see feedback from Idea Mentors! You can continue a dialogue with questions and answers you may have about how to develop, refine, or pivot your idea.

Beforehand

If you could launch any business, what would it be?
Who is the market for this product or service?

Afterwards

Did your idea change with feedback?
How would you actually reach your market for your product or service?

Improv Comedy Workshop presented by the Happy Gas Improv Troupe

Come visit the Improv Comedy Workshop to learn some tips on how to react quickly, think on your feet, and maybe get some laughs along your way. Have fun, and smell the funny.

Beforehand

What is your previous experience with improv comedy?
What skills do you feel are important to make a scene up on the spot?

Afterwards

How do you think doing improv comedy can help you in other areas of your life?
How is it different trying to be funny with other people than trying to be funny on your own?

Letterpress Printing Demonstration presented by WKU’s branch of AIGA, the professional association for design

Letterpress printing dates back to the 15^th century but over the last few years has become popular again. In this demo, you’ll learn about letterpress and be able to pull your own print while expressing yourself.

Beforehand

What do you know about letterpress printing?
If you could say something about your generation, what would you say? What would you want people to know about your generation?

Afterwards

How did learning about and experiencing letterpress printing change your idea of fonts and type?
How did this experience change your views on modern technology?

Makerspace: Learn to Solder presented by Anne Heintzman and the WKU Makerspace

Using small user-friendly pen soldering tools, participants will solder together a kit of one LED light, badge, and coin battery and create a wearable badge that lights up, if all the connections are made properly. Participants can take their badges with them. We will have a 3D printer too!

Beforehand

What skills are needed to be able to solder effectively and where might you learn them in schools?
Are practical, hands-on activities valuable for everyone’s learning? How/why?

Afterwards

What was the most challenging part of soldering and why?
What other aspects of your life might soldering skills enhance, and why?

Makerspace: Literacy Meets Technology: How the Art of the Narrative and STEM connect presented by the Warren County Public Library Idea Lab

Try out a mini Lego Writing Workshop, where you will build a project in a limited amount of time and complete a short creative writing exercise. Then drive mobile robots like Sphero and Dash through a small obstacle course.

Beforehand

What is a modern library?
How can the library support active learning?

Afterwards

What are some library programs you might be interested in exploring further?
What are some ways you could use your local library’s more non-traditional services?

Movie Science Magic presented by the Kentucky Science Center

Explore the science behind the silver screen. Experiment with stop-motion animations and movie sound effects. Construct your own sound effects and tell your own Hollywood story.

Beforehand

How are movie sound effects created?
How does our brain put images together to help us see a movie?

Afterwards

What sound effects can you make at home?
What new techniques could be invented to imrove movies?

Personal Pitch Competition presented by Muamer Razic, founder of Level One Lacrosse and IFBG 2018 speaker

A personal pitch is sometimes referred to as an “elevator pitch,” since it lasts about the same amount of time it takes to ride up in an elevator with someone. This pitch is a concise, clear, and smooth message about your professional self that can be understood by everyone from your mom to your future boss. Entrepreneurs often give pitches about their businesses. We will help you craft your Personal Pitch or an Elevator Pitch for your business. The best pitch will win a prize!

Beforehand

What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone says, "Tell me about yourself."
Is there something you feel would better prepare you to talk about yourself or a business idea that you have?

Afterwards

How would you respond to "Tell me about yourself" now?
What skills di you sharpen by practicing your pitch?

Programming Dance Party presented by Matt Staggs of Franklin-Simpson Middle School

Do you like music? Do you like to dance? Do you like programming? Come by and learn how you can program a computer to choreograph a dance to your favorite songs. Students will learn how they can use computer science to get animated characters — AKA “sprites” — to dance on the screen to some of the most popular songs.

Relief Printing presented by WKU’s Printmaking Club

Come learn how to carve and print a relief print with the WKU Printmaking Club. We will show you how to carve a block of wood that can be printed on our portable etching press.

Beforehand

How does one go about carving a relief block for printing?
Why would a person create a relief print instead of simply making a drawing?

Afterwards

What other types of surfaces could be printed in relief?
What other tools or objects could be used to create marks that could be printed?

Selfie Station presented by the WKU Office of Admissions

The WKU Admissions Office is thrilled to have you on campus. Smile for the camera and share your day online with the hashtag #IFBG19!

Smartphone Microscopespresented by WKU’s SKyTeach

A few simple parts can turn any smartphone into a powerful microscope. Stop by our booth and make your own smartphone microscope.

Beforehand

Without tasting, smelling, or touching, how could you tell the difference between table salt and sugar? Between oregano and basil?
How do you think you could convert your smartphone into a microscope?

Afterwards

What is the most challenging part of using your microscope?
How close does the microscope need to be to objects you are examining?

Speaker Chats

Take the opportunity to speak one-on-one with the speakers from the morning’s speaker sessions. Ask questions, share your ideas, and get advice! The tentative schedule is as follows:

Brianna Harlan 12:30-12:45

Aria Byrd 12:45-1:00

Paige Halpin Smith 1:00-1:15

Robert Bowden 1:15-1:30

Sarah Bellos 1:30-1:45

Josiah Nelson 1:45-2:00

SPINtron presented by Newton’s Attic: Engineering Education

SPINtron is based on a NASA Multi-Axis Trainer used by original Project Mercury astronauts. It moves via a single manual wheel and a user’s changing center of mass. Users do not feel sick or get dizzy because their stomachs are centered in the axes of rotation to minimize movement, and the machine moves in random directions so the inner ear stays in balance. For more info, go to http://newtonsattic.org/amazing-devices/spintron/.

Beforehand

Why do you think the multi-axis trainer was invented?
Can you explain the concept of the center of gravity?

Afterwards

What benefits does the SPINtron have as a training device?
What is a “degree of freedom,” and how many does SPINtron have?

Take Your Chance at Poetry: Writing Aleatory Poems presented by Hunter Little and Caroline Sutphin, students in the WKU Department of English’s graduate Creative Writing Program

Aleatory poems are written using methods independent of the writer’s will, such as taking words from other written works and piecing them together to create something unique. This activity demonstrates the process of writing aleatory poetry by searching, discovering, and creating original poems by chance.

Beforehand

What are your past experiences with poetry? Were they positive or negative experiences? Why or why not?
How would you define poetry? What expectations do you have about poetry from previous readings, class lessons, or the media?

Afterwards

How would you define poetry now that you have completed this activity? Was your previous definition challenged in any way?
In what ways can you piece together the simple things you read on a daily basis (i.e. articles, blog and Facebook posts, tweets, magazines, books, instructions, etc.) to create an original poem that adds new meaning to the words or excerpts you choose to use?

Thread House presented by IdeaFestival Bowling Green 2019 speaker Brianna Harlan

A pop-up art installation that brings the concept of an internet thread to a 3-D interactive space, the Thread House will be populated with comments on a question about a contemporary concern. It then will accept visitors, issuing a call to action for individuals to take a comment and respond online and in their own spaces to the idea, question, or statement. By the end of the pop-up, the thread will reset, any remaining comments will be cleared, and the Thread House will be ready for a new conversation.

Ultimate Concept Mural presented by Andee Rudloff

Bring color, pattern, and ideas to this collaborative mural based on concepts shared at the festival, and then perhaps exhibit it at your school!

Beforehand