MITCH




Mitch Anderson __My definition of creativity:__ Creativity can be anything having to do with people expressing themselves, problem solving, etc. in a unique and different way.

__Straw Project (2/10/09)__ 1.)My partner and I used the idea to have a wider base for our tower and have it come to a point at the top, giving it support. 2.) //3 problems// -The base was not sturdy enough and the tower fell -The straws wouldn't hold together -It was a difficult assembly 3.)The tower eventually collapsed 4.)I feel that we could have done better with more time. 5.)I think that the tower wasn't as successful as we expected it to be. We thought that with a pyramid design to it, it would at least be somewhat stable, but it wasn't.

__Book Project (2/26/09) __ In this project, we were supposed to design a structure that would be able to support a number of books. The group whose strusture could support the most books won. My group won, with our's holding 38 books. Our design was basically a honeycomb one, consisting of a bunch of tiny circles taped together. From this assignement I learned that when used properly, even the weakest of materials can be used to make sturdy structures. I also learned that there are many different ways to go about solving a problem, and often the least expected idea can be the most successful.

[]

__(3/1/09)__ Since we first were assigned the project and finished the sample model that held the books, we've started work on the design for the chair itself. As a group we have a few different designs in mind, most using the same cell design we had with the books.

[]  __(4/6/09) __ 

One month later our chair is finished completely. We adapted the cell structure we originally planned to use and turned the inside of it into a grid-like system. With the cut-outs for each side and the middle, and sheets of cardboard connecting them through slots cut into them our chair held up very well. We finished it off with pieces of covering to hide the internal design and to make it more comfortable too. [] __**(6/11/09)-The Final Project**__

For our final and easily best project of creative innovations, we were to build something capable of launching balloons at our opposing group across the tennis courts. We decided to go with the ever popular cannon design. For Joe, Stacy, Missy, Dutch, Ryan and I, we went the first design we had drawn up, so development wasn't as difficult as it potentially could've been. Once we had drawn the concept on Solidworks, and had an accurate picture of what we wanted the cannon to look like, included below, we got to work on actually building it. We began with the chamber of the gun, using a piece of PVC pipe as the barrel. Attatched to the pipe is a hose clamp, anchoring the bungee cords, which are in turn, connected to the piece of wood which the balloons rests on and eventually fires off of. Also, inside the tube, connected to the piece of the wood at the end is another length of pipe, smaller in circumference, which the balloon actually rests on really. I think our design will be very effective, both in accuracy and design, as it's performed amazingly in all practice runs we've had. So far the most difficult part of the project has been getting our smaller piece of PVC to fit inside the larger piece, as we had to cut several slits down the length of it to fold it together, and eventually decrease its circumference. During this project, i've learned that the smallest miscalculations and imperfections in a project where precision is everything can dramatically alter its result.