In the Practical Microfactory project we work to create one, a dozen, a hundred of a certain design.
The Practical Microfactory is an exercise in team building and community gathering. This entrepreneurial experience provides leadership and a practical opportunity for a core team of youth and adults to consider what they might make as a group and how they can make many.
At the same time, the project gives us a reason to explore theme development, learn and share new skills, consider logistics of making the products with others who might have limited time (thereby requiring us to address the product factory process in a different way from a traditional factory). While we might not ever manage a real, full sized factory, this exercise gives us the opportunity to learn to adjust to the situations we encounter, production related or otherwise.
Practical Microfactory for Lunar New Year
For the Lunar New Year event at 2nd and PCH on February 17 2024, done in collaboration with the Long Beach – Qingdao Sister City Association, we made 30 bunnies, and created activities that might in the future themselves require production lines.
How do you make a bunny relate? It was last year’s lunar animal, and we made them red!
What’s your lunar animal?
Practical Microfactory for the Rube Goldberg Competition
Our next Practical Microfactory project is for the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest, competition at Long Beach City College on March 24, 2024.
Given the opportunity to use these competition provided images, what would you make?
Event Booklet: Practical MicroFactory for the Handmade Carnival for the Day of Inventing for the Rube Goldberg Competition Demonstration at the LA Makerfaire and City of STEM event.
