Time to tinker
The second Tinkerfest at Science Museum Oklahoma offers a hands-on experience.
From taking apart cars and building dog houses to carving pumpkins with power tools and laying down beats at a DJ station, Science Museum Oklahoma is planning plenty of ways for visitors to get hands-on at its second annual Tinkerfest.
“Research says kids learn by doing; there’s only so many times we can keep saying the research proves this. And now we just have to give those opportunities to the kids to where they can get their hands on, they can try things, get down and dirty, and really learn what our world’s about,” said Sherry Marshall, president and CEO of Science Museum Oklahoma.
“You can talk about stuff, you can show them slides, you can even watch it on YouTube. But nothing replaces being able to see it, do it, feel it, smell it, all right here yourself.”
A daylong celebration of creativity and curiosity, Saturday’s Tinkerfest will bring together makers, artists, crafters, engineers, educators and more as “guest tinkerers.” More than 65 different activity tables will be set up from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and admission to the museum will be free.
“We wanted to provide a day that not only can everybody experience the museum but take it to the next level. And Tinkerfest is the perfect time because then we can bring in sponsors for the day that are able to make the day free,” Marshall said. “We have fantastic partners. … While it is the highest attended day, it is also the highest resource-intensive day for the museum. We have to have all of our staff here, all of our volunteers. The amount of consumables we go through is immense. So, we wouldn’t be able to do it without those partners.”
Staying on mission
The inaugural Tinkerfest in 2017 set the museum’s single-day attendance record with about 7,500 guests receiving free admission to the museum, as well as 60 hands-on tinkering activities developed by the museum and more than 30 community organizations and individuals.
“It was one of the best days, and it hits close to my heart because it’s a philosophy that I truly, truly believe in. It’s experiential, it’s hands-on, it’s a true celebration of STEM learning and of STEAM learning because so much of it is science and arts integration,” Marshall said.
“When you talk about shining a spotlight on our mission, this day is the true embodiment of it. It’s revealing the wonder and relevance of science.”
Presented by Oklahoma EPSCoR — the Oklahoma Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research — Tinkerfest will feature a wide array of hands-on activities, from creating edible slime to crafting pinhole cameras to using the museum’s 3-D printer. This year’s event will feature more than 45 guest tinkerers, with more than 40 companies and organizations expected to send volunteers.
“One of the great things about Tinkerfest is the sense of community,” said Clint Stone, the museum’s vice president of programs, in an email. “It is inspiring to see so many museums, organizations, businesses, visual artists, and musicians all in one place. Each of them may potentially provide that interaction that lights a spark within the mind of one of the folks they meet that day.”
Offering variety
Among the new offerings at this year’s Tinkerfest will be a beginning carpentry station, where visitors will build dog houses with the guidance of Francis Tuttle Technology Center experts, alongside a Bella Foundation SPCA pet adoption event.
“Throw puppies in the mix, and you can’t lose,” Marshall said with a laugh.
Mustang Creek Alpacas will give attendees the chance to not only meet the llama-like creatures but also to see the process of turning their fleece from yarn to finished product.
“A lot of times, people don’t necessarily know where everyday items come from; they just appear at Walmart or Target. But a lot of the things at Tinkerfest help people get a better understanding of that process,” she said.
The car take-apart was so popular at the inaugural Tinkerfest that this year’s event will feature not one but two automobiles for eventgoers to dismantle.
“There are so many different activities, so if there is something that you’re interested in, you can beeline it and you can play to your heart’s content. If you love taking a car apart, you can do that all day … and you can really play to what you love. But even bigger than that, there are so many different experiences that you can try, you might discover you love something that you didn’t know that you love,” she said.
Experiencing wonder
The museum is on track to unveil its newly revamped Kirkpatrick Planetarium to visitors during Tinkerfest. One of the museum’s cornerstone attractions, the planetarium closed in early August for state-ofthe-art improvements, most notably the installation of a new star projector to replace the one that had been used since 1978.
“It should be a soft opening where people can go to shows. We’ll still be tweaking them and getting a lot of input on really how to make it the best experience. … Once we’ve tweaked everything, we’re sure about the programming and we’re really ready to release it the public, we’ll do a grand opening in mid-October,” Marshall said.
Although Tinkerfest is only in its second year, Stone said it already has become an integral part of the museum’s programming.
“It has become something that we think about throughout the year. We may try a new activity, see an interactive experience while on a trip, or meet an artist or organization doing something that is innovative and think ‘Wouldn’t that be great to share with guests at Tinkerfest?’ We have an amazing team of folks here at Science Museum Oklahoma who have been diligently planning how to provide the best and most engaging experience possible for our guest,” he said.
Chris Syfrett, the museum’s tinkering specialist, championed the idea of Tinkerfest and has been coordinating with our community partners, artists, tinkerers and fellow museums for the event.
“It’s kind of funny, when I was growing up I always felt frustrated that the world wasn’t as interesting as it was in different books or movies. I was never going to find Narnia at the back of a wardrobe, or a train station hidden in a stone pillar,” he said in an email. “But getting into making and tinkering, and the how-it’s-made of all sorts of things, can show you just how interesting the world really is.”