We collaborated with the Harvard Graduate School of Education on a workshop around art and activism as part of our Paper Politics studio. 14 HGSE students from the Digital Fabrication and Making in Education course teamed up with 12 of our NuVu students to brainstorm and prototype ideas for activist campaigns. It was a stimulating, intense workshop that lead to some interesting ideas that NuVu students will continue to develop in their studio. Look out for more collaborations with HGSE in the coming year!

Two of our NuVu students, Satchel and Max, were invited to present at the Harvard Sustainability celebration yesterday. They presented Tesselating Gardens, a floating river filtration system developed as part of the Paper Politics studio in which Satchel and Max focused on the issue of environmental sustainability.

This semester, we partnered with the Cambridge Arts Council to design an exhibition called "In:Accessible." The working exhibition was created by our students with the support of our NuVu Coaches. The exhibition is located in Gallery 344 at City Hall Annex and showcases our students' work on innovative products for people with disabilities.

In Gallery 344 at City Hall Annex, In:Accessible presents both the process and content of learning at NuVu. The students explore and expand the notion of access in the public and private realm within cities. They raise questions about how a city engenders openness, freedom, and opportunity for the people, animals, and plants who inhabit it. By looking at access through a variety of lenses (social, spatial, physical, physiological, psychological), In:Accessible illuminates potential connections that might allow people to transcend the barriers inhibiting participation.

In:Accessible examines the rights and ownership of civic spaces: how transportation infrastructure (bike lanes, crosswalks, bus stops, T stations) can connect and disconnect residents; how racial and socioeconomic segregation grows in a city; and how gender identity can shape a place.

This past March, our students installed Part I of In:Accessible, presenting distillations, concept prototypes, and work based on their research and design development.

More on In:Accessible: http://www.cambridgema.gov/arts/publicart/gallery344

Schedule of NuVu events:

February 18, 2018, 6:00-8:00pm

End-of-Term, Winter NuVu Exhibit/Demo Day

            Location: NuVu Studio, 450 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

March 26, 2018, 6:00-8:00pm

In:Accessible Gallery Reception and Conversation with NuVu Students

Conversation about current and future assistive/adaptive technologies

Location: Gallery 344, City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 2nd Fl.

April 26, 2018, 5:30pm

Film Screening

NuVu Student Short Documentaries and Feature Film Edward Scissorhands

Location: City Hall Annex, 2^nd Floor Community Meeting Room

NuVu Summer 2018, Future Worlds
 

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

We have three summer programs - open to students, ages 11-18.

Summer 2018 Programs:
Summer 2018 Future Worlds (Ages 11-13, Grades 6-8)
NuVu at MIT Design Studios (Ages 14-18, Grades 9-12, Post-High School, Gap Year)
NuVu at MIT Design Studios Residential Program (Ages 14-18, Grades 9-12, Gap Year)

Summer 2018 Program Dates:
Session I:    July 9-20, 2018
Session II:   July 23-August 3, 2018
Session III:  August 6-17, 2018

In Summer 2018, we will time-travel into the future to explore life on earth and outer space. We’ll imagine the spaces we’ll be inhibiting and use our predictions to design, engineer and build inventions to help us live sustainably, healthily and productively. This Summer 2018, our theme is Future Worlds and we’ll be exploring all these topics and more while working together to design meaningful solutions for the future!

Choose from 21 unique two-week studios, including Soft Robotics, Bio Design: Synthetic Biology, Fashion Forward, AI Neural Networks, Augmented Reality Games, E-Go-Karts, 3D Printed Food,Music Making Machines, and more!

NuVu Summer 2018, Future Worlds
 

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

We have three summer programs - open to students, ages 11-18.

Summer 2018 Programs:
Summer 2018 Future Worlds (Ages 11-13, Grades 6-8)
NuVu at MIT Design Studios (Ages 14-18, Grades 9-12, Post-High School, Gap Year)
NuVu at MIT Design Studios Residential Program (Ages 14-18, Grades 9-12, Gap Year)

Summer 2018 Program Dates:
Session I:    July 9-20, 2018
Session II:   July 23-August 3, 2018
Session III:  August 6-17, 2018

In Summer 2018, we will time-travel into the future to explore life on earth and outer space. We’ll imagine the spaces we’ll be inhibiting and use our predictions to design, engineer and build inventions to help us live sustainably, healthily and productively. This Summer 2018, our theme is Future Worlds and we’ll be exploring all these topics and more while working together to design meaningful solutions for the future!

Choose from 21 unique two-week studios, including Soft Robotics, Bio Design: Synthetic Biology, Fashion Forward, AI Neural Networks, Augmented Reality Games, E-Go-Karts, 3D Printed Food,Music Making Machines, and more!

Alexa Mills of

TEAM A's REVIEW People's choice: Nicholas, an MIT grad student, recommended

TEAM B's REVIEW Today we interviewed five people across Kendall Square. Everyone recommended different places to eat and had different favorite types of food. However everyone seemed to be eating wherever they were because they were in search of a quick meal on a relatively low budget. It seemed that the speed with which it was served outweighed the quality of the food, at least for the given situations. Everyone either walked or took the T to where they were eating, and the most it took anyone to get there was 20 minutes. They all seemed to live in the general vicinity and were familiar with the area.

TEAM C's REVIEW Review 1:

TEAM D's REVIEW Our group traveled to Central Square in search for the best restaurant around town. We got off the T at the Central stop and walked up and down Massachusetts Avenue asking local workers and residents of the area where they prefer to eat on their lunch breaks, and which one of the many joints is their favorite. We interviewed seven locals on several aspects that determine a persons every day lunch spot. These included: daily budget, transportation needed, time for lunch and of course desire for a certain meal. We got several different responses from different walks of life that introduced new restaurants to our group. From the responses, we began to choose where we wanted to eat lunch and why. As we walked along the street, we tried to ask people who were eating on the run. When we asked, What is your favorite restaurant in Central Square? we got several different answers:



TEAM E's REVIEW Walking to center we decided to split our group into two for the sake of the people we were interviewing. One group went to Wendy's to try their new fries. This was in order to compare them to the McDonalds french fries. Since both chains were already well known comparing an item from each menu would be a way to offer insight into each chain without being dull and dry. The fries at Wendy's were well received in the group. The one complaint from the group was the amount of salt on the fries. They recommend eating them with additional salt and ketchup. Besides that the fries were great. They tasted freshly made and not like other fast food fries. You could taste the effort put into the fries which pleased us. The freshness of the ingredients was great and we were certain that the fries were as fresh as possible. Wendy's markets themselves as a fast food chain that always delivers fresh ingredients and from these fries we agree. After eating the fries at Wendy's, still not full we made our way to McDonalds. After eating the McDonalds fries the general consensus was that the fries were not as crisp as the fries we'd eaten at Wendy's, but there was a noticeable difference in the amount of salt. This made them slightly more delicious than the new Wendy's fries. Overall we concluded that the taste of the Wendy's fries was more appealing. After eating we went out on the streets to interview the locals about the food in the area. Rendezvous was a well liked restaurant by a woman we found on the street. She liked the quality of the restaurant and the atmosphere. Though the price was a little bit high she liked to eat there when she had a limited amount of time to eat. The next person that we found had little time or money to spend on lunch. She enjoyed eating at C3 "C3 has delicious sandwiches at a good price." Others definitely shared this woman's opinion on C3 since walking past the restaurant it was very crowded. We saw many people who chose to eat less conventional lunches. Every other person walking down the street seemed to have settled for a quick cup of coffee or a pastry. A more high end bakery in the area was Flour. Someone who we'd interviewed seemed to enjoy eating here and sitting down to enjoy their meal. Overall people liked to settle for the faster, cheaper and less healthy alternative. Most people moved briskly through the streets with bags from fast food restaurants. While most places were empty on the street McDonalds and Wendy's were crowded. After our meals at the two fast food restaurants we felt too full to walk back. We took the train back and after a few minutes arrived at our stop. We were lucky enough to get a free train back though we could have afforded one after spending little money on our food.

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Because of the economy, Frank said, voters appear less concerned about civil liberties. Of course, Democrats seem to care more about these issues and can therefore appeal to a growing cohort of open-minded young people, whom he says will make the difference in the general election. Twenty years ago, conservatives argued that {homosexuality} was a choice. This has been a wholly discredited theory." In Mitt Romneys case, Frank added, the candidate asked his former foreign policy advisor to be quiet about the fact he was gay, so the campaign would not be ashamed of him. Frank expressed surprise that the man was appointed at all, as Romney directly appeals to Anti-LGBT voters across the Republican political spectrum. NuVu students listening to Congressman Frank

The conversation then shifted to the price of education. This is a tricky topic, Frank admitted, especially with the economy in the shape that its in. A student asked about school loans that often leave the recipient in crushing debt, and if there was anything that could be done to prevent this. The answer was 'yes', and that Frank had actually passed a bill to reduce the interest rate on loans. Part of the problem, he said, is that there is too much inequality. There are a fraction of people who do not need the loans, and then there are people who rely on student loans to go to school and cant afford to pay them back. This is known as the spiral. According to Barney Frank, there are several things the government could do to combat this problem. First, they could implement a system in which the amount one pays for student loans is in proportion to their first salary. This, he says, would allow more people to pursue the career of their choice rather than one they take to get out of debt. Second, this country could scale back military spending, and put more money into community colleges. This way, more and more young people would enroll in classes, then go on to earn a higher salary, thus helping bridge the income gap. Emily Lynch asks the Congressman about rising education loans

The final topic of the morning was on the issue of bipartisanship. Frank's response to the inquiry about whether it was possible to, in effect, have a no-party system, which insisted upon cooperation and compromise was swift and sharp: Do you think I could sit down with Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann and put our differences on federal spending, women's rights and gender equality aside? No, theyre nuts!.

This reporter felt it was refreshing and interesting to listen to a politician who clearly enjoyed speaking his mind. Although part of his honesty is likely because he does not need to worry about his re-election, I know from past elections and events that Barney Frank has rarely hesitated to tell anyone exactly what he thinks. It has gotten him into some trouble politically, but I feel that he is more respected and admired for staying true to himself and the principles in which he believes.

Envisioning Now, Day 2 by S. Adrian Massey III 10/19/10 Tuesday we reviewed product design processes. We looked at iterative models for product development where many design iterations can be created and tested simultaneously. We reviewed participatory design methods like democratic brainstorming and usability methodologies. Lastly we reviewed integrative methods of design specifically focusing on the future of parametric collaborative workspaces like CATIA. These modern digital workspaces allow for dynamic interchangeability of design elements. With this understanding we engaged in a post-it brainstorm, where the students shared their ideas with the class and the class responded with more ideas to push each project further.

After the brainstorm we reviewed sketching for hard products, fabrics, and digital experiences. We then engaged in an isometric drawing exercise. The students ran into some difficulty with understanding the principles of isometric drawing given the fact that this was the first time many of them had attempted a technical drawing. There was one student in particular who did not understand the spatial relationship of the lines at the beginning of the exercise, but with the use of a ruler and some detailed explanation of each line, she reached a modest ability to read an isometric drawing. This drawing exercise created a segway to thumbnail iterative sketching. The aim was to use the ideas that had been shared during the brainstorm session and elaborate on them in 25 quick thumbnail sketches. My expectation was to complete this project in 30 minutes. To my surprise the activity took the remainder of the day. The task of iterating 15 additional simple sketches on a single concept commanded a willingness that the students were not sure how to trust.

Envisioning Now, Day 3 by S. Adrian Massey III 10/20/10 We began the day by reviewing industrial production processes for metal, plastic, knitwear and fabric. The aim of the presentation was to illustrate a few ways in which a commercial product can be produced. At the same time it underscored the rate and volume of industrial production today.

Following the lecture, each student presented their scenarios, mood boards, and sketches. The goal was to take a step back from the project to be able to see how much work and thought had been invested. To my dismay, some students still did not have their projects sketched. Afterwards the students were responsible for completing their projects with a final rendering/collage, all package in a presentation with descriptive text.

Design Team: Angelo Cabral, Alec Dede, Stephen Phillips If youve ever been to the Museum of Science, then you will understand me when I say, "we wanted to freeze our shadow against the wall" for our interactive art-music piece. This, however, seemed unlikely for our team to accomplish because the Museum of Science uses phosphorescent material and places projectors behind their walls, something we wouldn't be able to do in the two-week time frame of our studio. Nevertheless, we took that idea and used Max MSP (a visual programming language for music and multimedia) to create our project with the help of David Wang and Coach Eric Singer. Using tutorials on Max and a bought webcam, we built a patch that took the image from the camera and did the following effects: 1. Changed the color to black and white; 2. Constructed a segmented patch to enable us to use the microphone on the camera; 3. Made the screen get smaller/larger depending on how loud the participant was being; 4. Placed a fogger in Max so that if the participant was being loud, the image would get foggy; 5. Included a color converter so that, similar to 3 and 4, if participant was being noisy, then everything in the image that was black would turn to white, and everything that was white would turn to black; and 6. Hooked up a control box that allowed our teammate Angelo to experiment with the intensity of each particular effect we had in our project while participants where dancing in front of the camera. Here's an image of Saeed and Saba dancing for our interactive art piece (the name of the project, "The Saeed Shimmy," was inspired by Saeed's famous dance move!): post by Stephen Phillips

Here are the infomercials each of the teams produced from the Envisioning Now design studio. The Music Note by Annie Kellogg & Nora Demick: