SPRINT BRIEF
You will pick a creature and study its unique movement or mechanism. Then, you will brainstorm an everyday problem that this mechanism could help solve. Using cardboard and simple materials, you will design and build a wearable solution inspired by your creature, transforming its movement into something functional for the human body.
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WHAT WE ARE DOING
WHY WE ARE DOING IT
You will learn about creatures and recreate their movements using prototyping techniques combined with electronics
To learn how nature inspires design. By studying how creatures move, you'll explore how we can use those motions to create clever, bio-inspired inventions.
Final Project Expectations
Your design should be inspired by a creature and reflect how it moves in the real world. It will mimic the creature’s unique motion, such as walking, crawling, flying, swimming, or bending.
Your prototype must include moving parts that can be activated manually or electronically to bring your creature to life for the Creature Motion Theater.
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Studio Skills
Collaboration
Concept Development
Lo-Fi Prototyping
Science
Mechanical Movements
Interactivity
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The design process will include these steps:
Prototyping
Precedent Research & Sketching
A good example of signals are "the launch of chatGPT" or "the fall of the iconic tunnel tree redwood" and good examples of drivers would be "artificial intelligence" or "climate change"
Then, identify signals (glimpses of the future we already see today) and drivers (what made the signal possible)
Analyze one creature that interests you! Sketch its movement in three frames, then design a second sketch showing how you'd recreate that movement using paper prototyping
Bring your prototype sketch to life by building a cardboard model that recreates your sea creature’s movement using simple materials and basic mechanisms.
SPRINT STEPS
Brainstorming
Take a video of your project in motion and turn it into a gif
Showcase your project in a fun and engaging performance.
Session 1
60mins
Session 2
60mins
Session 3-4
120 mins
Session 5
60 mins
Session 6
60 mins
Last Touches + Documentation
Exhibition
Come up with a project idea, a function for your wearable design
A precedent is a real-world example or project that you can research to better understand ideas related to your work.
ACTIVITY MATERIALS
Session 1
Template
Pencil
Colored Markers
Laptop/Ipad
Printed Template
Paper
Ruler
As part of your process, research one creature and analyze how it moves. Focus on how its movement works, what features help it survive, and what makes it an interesting subject to study.
Precedent Research
1.
You will find the template under the presentation post.
ACTIVITY MATERIALS
Precedent Research
As a group of 3 to 4:
Go to the toolbox folder and you will find a library of various ocean creatures.
Select 1 creature you would like to dive deep into. Then, answer the following questions on a sheet of paper:
1.1
Yes, you can choose a sea creature/organism that is not in the library, but it has to be able to move!
Sketching in design thinking is a quick and visual way to explore, communicate, and develop ideas. It helps designers think through problems, test concepts, and share their thoughts with others—without needing polished drawings. Sketches can be rough, but they’re powerful tools for brainstorming, prototyping, and collaboration.
Sketch how your creature moves by breaking the motion to show how it shifts, bends, flaps, or glides through water. This will help you could recreate that movement using materials.
Sketching Concept
1.2
Sketching Concept
A. Drawing of Movement
Sketch how your sea creature moves by capturing the key changes in its motion across three frames. Focus on showing how the body shifts, bends, flaps, or glides through the water.
1.3
Sketching Concept
B. Prototype Sketch
Now think about how you could recreate that movement using materials.
Create a second sketch that shows the parts and components you'd need to bring your creature’s motion to life through prototyping.
Label key elements such as joints, linkages, flexible materials, or any mechanisms you imagine using.
1.3
How to Diagram
In brainstorming, students collectively generate ideas that will shape the concepts for their group projects. They typically begin by listing ideas individually, then come together to share and discuss them using a pin-up brainstorming board filled with writing, drawings, Post-it notes, and lively conversation.
ACTIVITY MATERIALS
Session 2
2.1
Brainstorming
You already have your creature. Think about its unique movement or mechanism (stretch, grip, fold, twist, jump, crawl, expand...).
Now brainstorm everyday problems that this mechanism could help solve through something you can wear. Choose one problem and design a wearable prototype that uses your creature’s mechanism to solve it.
Octopus → gripping/wrapping → carrying multiple objects → wearable straps that expand and grip objects around the body.
Turtle → retracting/protection → getting caught in unexpected rain → wearable shell that unfolds into a protective hood.
Bird → folding/expanding wings → needing extra storage on the go → wearable pockets that fold flat and expand when needed.
Bat → stretching/folding wings → needing shade in the sun → wearable canopy that expands from the arms.
Kangaroo → expanding pouch → needing quick access to items → wearable pouch that expands when needed and folds flat
Butterfly → opening/closing wings → getting too hot outdoors → wearable panels that open for ventilation and close
Refer to the toolbox to learn different sketching techniques. You will draw many iterations of your design, exploring different ways your concept could look and function. In each sketch, combine the technologies, materials, and design elements you selected, and think about how they work together to express who you are.
Don’t aim for a perfect drawing—this is about experimenting, testing ideas, and refining your thinking. Each sketch should help you learn something new about your design and move it forward.
2.2
Sketch your project Idea
Prototyping is the process of turning your sketches and ideas into physical models that you can test and improve. It starts with drawing your concept, then building simple versions using materials to explore how it moves or works. Prototyping helps you test mechanisms (how parts move or connect) and kinetics (how motion happens), so you can find what works and what needs fixing.
ACTIVITY MATERIALS
Cardboard
Colored Acetate
Bristol Papers
Zip-ties
Straws
Metal Ruler
Pencil
Markers
Cutting Blade
Masking Tape
Hot Glue Gun
String
Brads
Popsicles and wooden skewers
Session 3-4
You will first undertake a safety orientation and an overview of cardboard 101 (toolbox).
Model Making
3rd
CARDBOARD TECHNIQUES: SHAPING
Bending
Scoring
Curving
Faceting
Layering
Hinging
CARDBOARD TECHNIQUES: JOINERY
Brads
Flanges
Brace
Skewer
Bend
Hinge
Slots
Butt Joint
CARDBOARD TECHNIQUES: Mechanism
Scissor lift
Grabbing
Waving
Tentacle
Curving
Fanning
Recreate and test the mechanism using lo-fi materials, exploring how they could become part of a wearable solution to an everyday problem.
For example
Model Making
Using cardboard, create a prototype of your wearable design that accurately represents its scale and dimensions. Focus on how it will fit onto the body and ensure that your prototype demonstrates key features and functions of your design.
Model Making
ATTACHMENT LOCATION
Consider all possible locations and methods of attachment for your wearable enhancement.
USE YOUR BODY FOR ACCURATE SCALE
Think on how one mechanism could become part of a wearable
Octopus
→ gripping/wrapping (tentacle)
→ difficulty carrying or holding multiple objects
→ wearable gripping arm that wraps around and holds objects hands-free.
Model Making
Examples
Model Making
Examples
Final Exhibition is when you display all your work done the sprint. Present what work and didn't worked!
ACTIVITY MATERIALS
Device for photography
Your Project
Session 5
Document your work!
Record a video of your project moving and turn it into a gif. Time for a fashion walk!
Photo of Project
+ Student Name
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First Prototype (testing)
Concept Idea
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Sketch
4
Final prototype Video
Canva Template for presentation
You will pick a creature and study its unique movement or mechanism. Then, you will brainstorm an everyday problem that this mechanism could help solve. Using cardboard and simple materials, you will design and build a wearable solution inspired by your creature, transforming its movement into something functional for the human body.
Teamwork: Groups of 3-4
