TSO-F Day 2: Fair To Open Friday

Every great build begins with an idea, and every creative building idea comes from the imagination. Tinkerers began their Monday with the theme of a fair set before them. The juniors had three build objectives. Create a fair attraction: 1.) that spins, twirls, or rotates; 2.) that goes down fast; 3) that is a game with a target. Trading ideas led them down a path that would yield creative fair rides with mechanics built to thrill.

Junior Tinkerer, Fisher, shares his solution for combining his team’s slide and roller coaster build designs.

Junior Tinkerer, Fisher, shares his solution for combining his team’s slide and roller coaster build designs.

“I really want to do a coaster and you really want to do a slide, so here’s my idea,” Fisher said to his teammate, Jake, and he began to elaborate on a scheme to include both.

By the end of the design session, Fisher and Jake’s team had settleD on building a roller coaster track that would incline to a landing platform allowing for the rider to dismount the cart and to continue down another rail or to choose a slide ride to the bottom.

The other junior teams decided to build a zip line with a chair that can twirl 360 degrees and a hanging merry-go-round to be strung from a sturdy tree branch or two.

A design drawing sits next to the initial framework at the junior build site.

A design drawing sits next to the initial framework at the junior build site.

Senior teams were given the task of completing a preexisting roller coaster rail, developing a mechanism to pull the cart out of the lower bank turn and up the incline, and building a cart to ride along the rail. In addition, some senior Tinkerers added a ticket booth construction project for fair goers.

Senior Tinkerers, Helena and Iris, work together to secure supports and stakes for new and old rail segments.

Senior Tinkerers, Helena and Iris, work together to secure supports and stakes for new and old rail segments.

“Who loves to fail?” collaborator, Julie, asked the teams as the task of completing the rail seemed daunting.

“You have to fail to succeed,” collaborator, Manny, encouraged.

With this encouragement, the senior teams began to build and fail with much more confidence, completing a quarter of the track by shop closing time.

Senior Tinkerers and collaborators work on extending a preexisting roller coaster rail on their first build day.

Senior Tinkerers and collaborators work on extending a preexisting roller coaster rail on their first build day.

Check out the photo slideshow of Tinkerers during their first build day.