Competition begins!
The Science Museum is set to bring a burst of excitement to its summer events programme with the introduction of a new free family workshop called Game On. Running from 25 July to 7 August (excluding 6 August), this interactive event will be located opposite the Agriculture gallery, on Floor 1.
At Game On, families can immerse themselves in a hands-on, interactive gaming experience. The highlight of the workshop is the use of Makey Makey, a little invention kit, to turn cardboard gaming controllers into functional game controllers. These homemade controllers can be used to play games such as Pac-Man with ease.
To create your own cardboard gaming controller, follow these simple steps:
- Design Your Controller on Cardboard: Cut out cardboard pieces shaped like your game controller buttons or pads. You can make directional arrows and action buttons corresponding to the keyboard keys that Pac-Man uses.
- Add Conductive Material: Cover the cardboard button areas with a conductive material such as aluminum foil, copper tape, or conductive paint. This layer is what the Makey Makey will detect when touched.
- Connect Wires from the Makey Makey to the Conductive Areas: Use alligator clips to connect each Makey Makey input (e.g., arrow keys: up, down, left, right) to the corresponding foil-covered button on your cardboard controller. Also, connect the Makey Makey ground (earth) to a large conductive area or to the player’s grounding point (like holding a wire).
- Set Up the Grounding: The Makey Makey requires a common ground connection to complete the circuit. Make sure the player touches or holds something connected to the ground wire when pressing buttons on the cardboard controller.
- Test Your Controller: Open Pac-Man or another game on your computer. When you touch a cardboard button connected to the Makey Makey inputs, it should register as the corresponding keypress in the game. You can now play the game using the cardboard controller.
- Experiment and Customize: Use play dough, copper tape, or more cardboard shapes to extend and customize your controller. Tutorials on TikTok and Instagram from the Makey Makey community show creative ideas combining art and technology with cardboard and conductive materials.
Tickets for Game On can be purchased online. Places at the free workshop are limited and it is suitable for children aged 7 and over. The workshop times are 12.00-13.30 and 14.30-16.00 on weekdays, and 14.30-16.00 on weekends.
The Science Museum's Learning team runs free science shows and workshops daily, with additional activities during weekends and school holidays. The workshop allows visitors to design and decorate their own cardboard gaming controllers, offering a unique and engaging experience for all.
Nicolette Chin, the Special Events Developer (Families and Accessible Programmes) at the Science Museum, is excited about the upcoming event. She said, "Game On is designed to be more tactile and interactive, encouraging families to get hands-on with technology and have fun creating their own gaming controllers."
The Museum launched a similar hands-on, interactive gaming event called Power Up in July 2016, which featured video games and consoles from the past 40 years. Game On continues this tradition, offering a fun and educational experience for all ages.
So, get ready to unleash your creativity and join in the fun at the Science Museum's Game On workshop this summer!
- At the Science Museum's Game On workshop, families can engage in a unique and interactive experience, creating their own cardboard gaming controllers for games like Pac-Man.
- The Science Museum's Programme offers more than just Game On; they also run daily free science shows and workshops, with additional activities during weekends and school holidays, including fashion-and-beauty demonstrations, food-and-drink tastings, home-and-garden DIY projects, travel exhibitions, and sports-related activities.
- If you enjoy games and technology, you might also appreciate the Museum's past interactive events, such as Power Up, which showcased video games and consoles from the past 40 years, or future travel opportunities to fashion capitals for a trendy fashion-and-beauty lifestyle, or culinary adventures to renowned food-and-drink destinations around the world.
