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  • Activities and Competitions

    Organizing activities and competitions is fun but there are times you need some fresh ideas. In the activity drop-down menu below, you can find heaps of ideas. What about a Paper Plane Competition?

  • Activities

  • TIP: Keep an action list

    I wasn't particularly good at it myself - I'm an ad hoc person - but it was one of my recommendations when I gave display workshops: Make a rough sketch of how the display will look like Write down what materials and tools you'll need Create a time-line / checklist: This week copying and laminating - Next week: buy or beg materials - Two weeks: covering display boxes with matching paper - Three weeks: collect books matching the display etc. till you reach D-day and start getting nervous....

  • TIP: Staple at an angle

    Removing old display items will be much easier when you hold the stapler at an angle when you tack items to the board. The staples will stick out at one side - perfect to get hold of and pull them out when you change displays.

  • TIP: Use a glue gun

    Glue guns are the most fantastic tools for creating displays. You can attach all sorts of materials like hard plastic, metal, fabric and everything else you can think off. Be careful with your fingers (blow - blow) the glue is very hot and you easily get blisters

  • TIP: Create a 3D effect!

    Create a 3D effect by hanging objects in front of the display board, like fish in a Sea Life display or lanterns in a Spring or Garden display.

  • TIP: Don’t overdue it!

    Too much text, images or books on display too close together distract the eye. It all becomes a blur. Each object needs its own space. Think of a shop window that is more than full with appliances, you can’t distinguish one object from the other, while carefully placed objects attract the attention.

Mathematics: Juggling the Numbers

Posted on April 18th, 2010 by Anita

We may not realise it but everything in life is full of mathematics. Shapes, forms and sounds. Nature, time and space. Music, art and games. According to Wikipedia: Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, and change. 

To create a display that covers all this is way too much so I numbered (nice pun) it down to a straight construction with clear lines. (see: Display tips)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A couple of playful math books were helpful to get me started and while shelving an artbook about Escher’s mathematical drawings,  I got the idea for a reoccuring background. Than I saw on the cover of a design magazine the bright yellow/black artwork of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama who’s work also contains reoccurring patterns and has an overwhelming amount of quantity and structure. Creativity and mathematics doesn’t seem to go together but here you see it does!
                                         
The black and yellow colours for the background and black and white for title and images enhance the feeling of logic, rythme and patterns while the bright numbers add a playful touch. 
 
What you need: 
  • Ask Maintenance Department for a plywood headboard and 4 thin plywood shelves, or if you’re not so lucky to have a Maintenance department, make them yourself. (or ask your partner, uncle, neighbour). A jigzaw can do a good job and is easy to handle.
  • 4 packages of bright coloured plastic numbers (two dollar shop)
  • Collection of rulers, set square etc. (lost property department)
  • Large calculator (two dollar shop)
  • Compass (two dollar shop)
  • Thermometer (two dollar shop)
  • Black/yellow images ‘Dragon by Escher (used as background and printed on A3)
  • Black/yellow ‘Dots Obsession Day’ Images by Yayoi Kusama’s (used as background and printed on A3)
  • Escher’s image ‘Bird/Fish in black and white, enlarged and laminated
  • Escher’s image ‘waterfall’ enlarged and laminated
  • 2 x Puzzle images from Menza book, enlarged and laminated (or use a Sudoku)
  • Black letters for title (size 450) on white background and laminated
  • Search Google – images for silhouette of juggling boy and girl, alternate if necessary and enlarge to required size
  • Black card to make boy and girl
  • Black card to cover parts of headboard (optional) and to cover shelves
  • Black card to create half round banner
  • Yellow card used as background for boy and girl
  • 4 Half round shelves of very thin plywood (or use cornflute)
  • Glue gun, blu tack, ruler, stapler, etc. to attach materials
 
What to do:
 
  • Cover the middle panel and the headboard in Escher’s yellow and black ‘Dragon’ A3 paper
  • Cover the left and right panel with ‘Dots Obsession Day’ printed on A3
  • Cover the shelves with black card and glue them in place with glue gun. Attach shelves halfway to the left and right panel. To hold them up I used set squares and glued them in place with a glue gun.
  • Staple the black half round banner to the middle panel. Use the glue gun to attach the numbers
  • Glue the calculator, thermometer and rulers etc. to the board. I use black card as a background for the rulers otherwise they could hardly be seen.
  • If necessary cover up the iron beams left and right of the middle board. Use black card. Attach the boy and girl with blu tack. Make sure their hands are in line with the black banner.
  • Glue ‘falling’ numbers under the banner to the middle board.
  • Glue numbers on the top of the shelves
  • Staple Menza puzzles to left and right top panel (make sure it is in the middle)
  • Staple Escher’s ‘Fish/Bird’ and ‘Waterfall’ to left and right bottom panel (in line with top images)
  • Use black card and a glue gun to cover the poles of the head board (optional)
  • Staple title in a ‘juggling’ way to the headboard.
          
 
 
                                      
 
 
 
 
 
 

Filed under: Education

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  • An idea for your next display? Wishful thinking

    Keep on the lookout for unusual, funny or cartoon-like images in magazines, on internet or in the daily paper like the image above. Cut or copy them and store them for when you need inspiration.
    One of those unusual images can be the basis for a great display. You don't need to do the whole design yourself.

  • Or what about this one? Free will, an illusion?

  • TIP: Think inside the hat!

    Party hats, store-bought or made from pages of an old book or scrap paper are very useful for a display. You can staple the hat to the board as a container for whatever you want to showcase. Or hang them in front of the board filled with little notes, poems, toy animals or whatever takes your fancy

  • TIP: Use old umbrellas as a display unit!

    Old umbrellas without the fabric but with a good frame are fantastic as a display item You can hang little objects like birds, light bulbs, little books and art objects from the frame. Fluffy fabric draped over the frame will give it an extra elegance.... let your imagination run wild and experiment!

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