Christmas Window 2015 - call for makers!!

[Iain Yarnall]

Hey everyone,

As some of you are aware, I already have ideas for this year's Christmas window display for Maker Space.  The general idea is to make a giant penguin race (see image below).

I'm looking for people to help out with the design and build of it so we can make it as epic as possible!  Any takers?

Below, I've detailed my thoughts so far but that doesn't have to be adhered to.  There's loads of scope for the theme and visual design as well as the technical aspects and once we have a team together we can sit down and work it all out a bit better.

Cheers,

Iain.

So far, the only design features I've really considered are:

 - Penguins probably around 10cm high and as many as we can fit in the track!

 - Steps to be made up of modules with a few steps each and independent motors so we can swap them out if they break.

 - Probably 2 staircases if we can so we fill the window.

Theme ideas so far are:

 - Alpine/snowy mountain scene.

 - Tyneside (the 2 staircases make the sides of the valley with the track going over the bridges.

Stretch goals:

 - Loop the loop in the track.

 - Gap jump in the track.

 - Both of the above!

 - Electronic monitoring

 - Public participation?

 - Portability for taking to Maker Faires

[Colin Jones]

I'll help, but I'm sure I've asked this before:-
What have penguins got to do with Christmas?

[Jon Davies]

What did a steel ball have to do with Christmas? Fun! Same for penguins. :)

On Sun, 3 May 2015 13:09 Colin Jones <maker....@gmail.com> wrote:

I'll help, but I'm sure I've asked this before:-
What have penguins got to do with Christmas?

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[Iain Yarnall]

At least last year, the ball represented a parcel going from the toy factory to the tree in your house although it wasn't very obvious.

The penguin link is tenuous I agree albeit a link that's commonly made.  Think it's something like:

Christmas => Santa => Lapland => North Pole/Snow => South Pole/More Snow => Penguins

We're definitely not doing what John Lewis did last year and making Christmas about mail order penguin brides!  That was just wrong!

[Alistair MacDonald]

I am game. Like last year I don't want to over commit now and let
anyone down so will work on some fringe things until we get closer to
December.

On a side issue I am also keen to work on another ball run at some
point. Perhaps a quieter one that can run in the side window. It
really grabbed peoples' attention at Maker Faire and I would like to
make one that is closer to 100% reliability than the current 99.7%.

Alistair

[Jon Davies]

I'd like to do one too, but would prefer a ball-bearing run, which is less visually stunning, but more manageable/portable :) I saw a guy upstairs at Maker Fair UK this year, with ones made out of copper wire. He's been there pretty much every Maker Fair UK I can recall. Still not 100% reliable without tweaks ;) balls falling off occasionally on his too. Currently distracted by Wearables and Nixies...