by Dot Cannon
The line of cars snaked back from the parking lot for at least three blocks. That experience proved to be just a preview of what was to come, once visitors were parked.
Oh, and parking cost twenty dollars (!).
But the traffic and waiting time proved worthwhile, as Two Bit Circus premiered their STEAM Carnival, today in San Pedro.
Walking into the CRAFTED facility on East 22nd Street after receiving our wristbands, one of the first things we saw was this:
And one of the first games we observed was this twenty-first century update on “Musical Chairs”.
How did it work? Well, when the music stopped, the participants had to find a lighted seat. And of course, a lot of scrambling and giggling ensued, just as with the original game.
In fact, music was a core part of the fun, with attractions including a “Beanbag Piano” that played notes when visitors jumped on chair-sized beanbags, as well as this synthesizer that changed its sound according to the placement of the circles. There was also a “Space Palette”, a very cool wooden device that allowed guests to select beats and musical styles by putting their hands through various openings, then make music by moving their hands.
STEAM Carnival is the inspiration of engineers and entertainers Brent Bushnell and Eric Gradman. For the past year, their company, Two Bit Circus, has been re-imagining and reworking the standard carnival in this new event that incorporates art into the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) equation.
They’ve come up with a winning mix.
Complete crowd-pleasers, for STEAM Carnival’s Los Angeles debut, included this “Magic Mirror”, where visitors could look into a computer-graphics-enabled screen to see how their own faces would look as a particular celebrity. Ringo Starr, Lady Gaga and Harry Potter were three possibilities the guests could try on for size.
STEAM Carnival’s re-imagining of the “Twister” game looked like this–and proved to be as addictive as any other computer game. (How in the world DO you manage to hit four lit buttons at the same time?)
Perhaps the biggest crowd gathered around this display–for their opportunity to pilot a drone. Some of the more adept attendees could actually guide it through the hoops!
And, what self-respecting STEAM Carnival could possibly happen without robots? These could dance!
Now, as with any first-time event, STEAM Carnival had some glitches. The STEAM LAB room had lots of intriguing, idea-based activities going on, but the PA system from the main stage tended to drown out the surrounding events, such as the discussions on robots or directions for playing an award-winning math card game that looked very interesting. We would also love to see more onsite demonstrators to guide visitors through different attractions.
But, the positives far outweighed the negatives, and everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun.
“Oh my gosh, (today was) just insane, I can’t believe it worked,” said Brent Bushnell. “We made it, and you know, there was touch and go there multiple times…we had lines around the block, they brought the police in to run traffic.”
Smiling as he donned a red clown nose for the occasion, he added, “It couldn’t be better.”
The inaugural version of STEAM Carnival continues for its second day tomorrow, Sunday, October 26th, from 11 am to 6pm at CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles, 112 East 22nd Street at Miner, in San Pedro.