Email One

Adela
Kate
Emily
Shenim
Kayla

I just wanted to check in and give you some feedback regarding the development of your project.

First of all - great job on the prototyping exercise. You work on the "hands-on community center" was terrific. I do want to caution you on one thing though: You arrived at this idea really quickly, which allowed you to make a great prototype. So, I want to caution you against settling in on anything too quickly - you need to "wander" a bit in your thinking and be careful not to just "sprint" to the finish line.

Things to think about regarding the center include:
- how distinct do the rooms need to be - is it one thing going on in each room or do they ever mix (e.g.: people reading and playing with lego in the same space) are there advantages to mixing or not?
- relationship to outside: can some part of this be outside? why or why not?
- is there a sequence to how it is best for people to move through it? what happens if they move in the "wrong" sequence, does it still work?
- like in a museum, how can the "exhibits" or activities be changed over or will it always have the same functions/activities?
- should there be a way to gather everyone together in addition to having lots of separate spaces and experiences?

Also, its really important to understand the center as part of a system:
- where would they be located (eg.: how many of them, how close together, etc)
- are they different by location? how would they be adapted / differentiated?
- how will people get to them?
- what kind of educational programs would go on there?
- how would this relate to a school in the same town/area?

So, for the prototype for next week, try to develop an aspect you did not explore before. I think it would be good to think about the system the centers create or are a part of and describe that - maybe they create a kind of network? maybe you could storyboard the experience of different visitors to understand how they would use the space / equipment?

Thanks a lot and let me know if you have any questions.

Elliot