This machine responds to the level of the sunlight on our (very bright) porch. The machine is made with a 2-sided screen (shaped like a roof), with a motor that hits the screen with some weights attached to a dowel. If it is really really really bright, it hits the side of the "roof" coated with blue paint; if it is not too bright, it hits the yellow side. Here's the machine: The mechanism of the summer sun painter.

Drawing made with a simple spinner. During the workshop this spring, I worked with a spin art machine. This first drawing is made with watercolor, a very fine brush, and a spinner that spinned in one direction. I experimented with the speed of the motor a bit -- too slow, and it just didn't have enough power to turn the paper. Made with a spinner that goes forward and backward.

It seems that whenever I tell people about what I do at the Science Museum, they tell me I need to get to know Asia Ward's artwork. She makes slightly-creepy, quietly-endearing, interactive creature sculptures like this one: Asia Ward, Lips. Contains a small motor, speaker, toy microchip, motion detector and rotating arm. The creatures are toy Frankensteins, constructed inside and out from pieces cobbled from old stuffed animals and electronic and mechanical toys. The sculptures are interactive.