Make and break, learn, play and do at Open Design Cape Town Festival

Jbjsaturday

HAVE you ever thought of building a rocket ship out of cardboard? Or imagined what a super hero made from a sneaker skate would look like? Have you tried to print yourself in 3D or taken apart a toaster to see how it was designed? Or perhaps you enjoy doodling and would enjoy being part of a doodle session.

These are some of the many events for kids at this year’s Open Design Cape Town Festival, which will run all day, every day, from August 11 to 16 at the City Hall in Cape Town.

This will be the fourth Open Design Cape Town Festival for young people of all ages, so there’s even something for your older brother or sister to enjoy and parents and teachers are welcome too.

There will be more than 140 events and most are free.

Here are some of the activities on offer.

● Brightminds Cardboard Play:

IT’S time to make, break, build and draw on Saturday, August 13, between 10am-4pm.

You will be given the space and the tools, materials and freedom to build whatever you like.

Stay as long as you want and use as many materials as you want. The only limit is your imagination.

This workshop is free and open to everybody.

● Brightminds Disassembly Workshops:

This brilliant workshop on Saturday August 13, between 10am-5pm by Maker Station lets kids break apart appliances, such as toasters and irons and see how these were designed and built.

Then they learn how to fix or recycle them and build their own gadgets. Participants will go home with their own toolkit ● Hero Expo: If you like comic heroes, pop into the Hero Expo and see them featured on customised sneaker skates. ● Scan yourself in 3D: Did you know that it’s possible to scan people in 3D? Families can get to experience this at lunchtime on Thursday, August 11 (from 1-2pm) and on Saturday August 13 (10am-4pm). ● Game Storm: Game Storm is a fun game with few, or no rules. In fact Gamestorm doesn’t exist until people sit down to play. It’s part making, part performance and part discussion, with a healthy dose of the absurd.

If you would like to play, bring some designer objects small enough to fit inside a closed fist, a pencil and eraser on Sunday August 14 at 10am.

There is an admission price of R80 which drops to R60 each for an adult and child.

PS: There are a number of activities and talks for high school pupils, parents and teachers, including one bringing together numbers and design.

● For more information and a full festival programme see www.opendesignct.com.