Week 5 November 19th

Today was started out by playing a quick game then each group shared their exhibit/prototype ideas so far. We bounced ideas off each other and refined them a bit.

Next, we traveled upstairs to the museum floor and met with Mallory Vopal who manages the floor spaces on the museum. She gave us a good idea of what places would be great for setting up our prototypes.

From there, we headed back to the classroom and worked diligently on our prototypes until the end of the day. We also tested some of our work on other groups in order to get some feedback.

Week 5 November 17th

Today we started off with an introduction to Ricardo Washington, a game designer who came to help us better decided how we want to present our exhibits. We then identified areas of interest to communicate to the public in our group. This decided what subject matter our prototypes would focus on.

From there, Ricardo spoke a lot about how games are designed to entice people as well as communicate something. He then explained briefly how this information could be used and applied to a museum exhibit.

Next we set up a "Climate Playground" of various prototypes of museum games and activities. The teens were encouraged to take part in each activity and deduce what made that activity enjoyable or memorable, or what made it unenjoyable or confusing.

Lastly, we got into our teams and the teens assigned themselves various roles which will be used during the exhibit design. These roles are project manager, design specialist, materials person, content specialist, and engagement specialist. We then shared our ideas and finalized our materials list.

Week 4 November 12th

Today we started off with a visit from a speaker, associated with Jane Clougherty, who came and talked to us about Jane's research. This research focuses mainly on how air quality and various social stressors are related.

We then had a visit from a representative of the group GASP. She brought in some very interesting air monitoring equipment. The teens then used these resources to monitor air quality in the are around the museum and the library while recording there findings. It was a fun activity which showed how particulate matter can vary from place to place even when indoors.

To round out the day, we all took part in straight talk within our teams. This gave everyone a chance to give honest feedback to the other members within our teens.

Week 4 November 10th

Today, we started off with a lesson about history of environmental justice. Included in the lesson were some examples of what environmental justice entails.

After this, we introduced a project, of which, the teens would be a major part. The project was an environmental justice debate. This debate was specifically focused on the practice of fracking near residential areas. The teens were split into teams and each given a pro or con stance as well as the role of someone concerning fracking near the Pittsburgh International Airport.

The teens then proceeded to do research on the subject matter and their particular role in the debate. The debate then took place for roughly 45 mins and was very heated. The teens took on the roles well and did an excellent job debating. The judges (Lindsey, Clara, Justin, Amanda and Tom) will tally up the scores and see who won the debate on Thursday.