Upon the successful conclusion of the Royal Enfield Impact Challenge, I was invited to join Maker’s Asylum in the preparation for their upcoming event, the Make Break Create Summit. This event celebrates 10 years of operation for the makerspace and invites talents of their program to the Museum of Solutions in Lower Parel to accelerate their maker projects. Where I fit in is in the mentorship and troubleshooting for those talents as well as preparing elements for the functioning of the event as a whole.
I saw this as an opportunity to understand and assess another makerspace, more oriented towards younger kids, and the elements embedded within that draw out these stories from the children. What makes the Museum of Solutions an inspirational space for children to instigate massive change? In addition, Mumbai as a space, where procurement of materials is simpler and the energy of the space also defines the work ethic for everyone.
The goal for the project at this point was targeting a path to discover how narrative connects to kids. Younger folk seem to resonate and connect strongly to narrative elements around them. These bonds formed with people and objects as well defines their growth trajectory and personality at several levels. The Museum of Solutions hopes to (by my observation) introduce young kids to their potentially to greatly impact the course of the world.
Yes, this at first may seem like a bleak capital driven attempt to reverse the clock on the damage dealt to the planet by the generations before them, but the deeper insight is about what means of access do the designers in this museum provide to stimulate the progressive thinking in children.
The Museum was divided into what seemed to be three basic levels, the STEM Playground, the River Exhibit, and the Makerspace. Maker’s Asylum functioned out of the Makerspace for the most part of this collaboration. I experienced acquainting myself to a new makerspace, with some seemingly interesting gimmicks to befriend children curious about fabrication or maker culture.
the ‘tool bar’ where kids can issue tools in a fun adult-like way.
inside the bathroom a crazy graphic showing the lifecycle of your poop.
giant Lilypad tower to climb on showcasing tensile strength
More often than not during my time at the Museum of Solutions I was wandering around observing and playing with the things around, and wondering about what factors or qualities make these processes and interactions more fun. Some products also have some narrative characteristics that provoke a curious or nostalgic reaction within people. Many of them may come from a childish space but are set in an older context. These objects make us feel the wonderment of childhood all over again, and that magic can be brought out by specifically designed products that linger in our households too.
‘Nessie’ by Ototo replaces the surgical tea infuser with a silicon-cast loch ness water that makes the water murky as its head sticks out!
The ‘Cacbrush’ by Qualy in function conceals the disgust surrounding toilet brushes with a playful accessory to add character and color to a bathroom.
How much of an effect does this element of household ‘joyousness’ have on our daily lives, given the added functionality of these products follows a soft-shelled childlike narrative. A more important question for the designers is whether we can tell if narrative came first or after the traditional product design process for such products, and what would it feel if it were the other way around.
Surely it is unlikely that children will be cognizant of a products effect on character (unless), but does having a fun childlike whimsical or funky object in our home bring it to life further? Are these more than just experiments in form and function, but something more deeper threaded than what meets the eye?