To follow are works in progress on programs. The work is in various stages of development and is moving along nicely thanks to our studio, equipment , new technology but most importantly our talented crew of workers. We wanted to call out the work of Ebone and Emmanuel specifically. These two started at the beginning of our grant period us as learners – mainly because we are using technology that is literally at the cutting edge of content development. In many way’s our development work and studio production work mirrors our primary mission and belief about learning – Learning happens when a group of individuals with various skills come together to accomplish a common goal. The environment is filled with organized materials and stations that allow the participants to choose what they need when the time is right.
We are in the process of bringing Tot Bots to life. As you recall Tot Bots is all about exploring our world. The program is filled with curiosity and features lead characters Merp and Cat Cat. These characters were the ones that we finally landed on after consultation with our young learners. Below is a program opening. It’s called a “rough cut”. The idea here is to capture the energy of the final piece and serve as a guide for the production and final animation.
Learners will be able to choose the kits they like based on the activities at hand.
What’s great about STEAMCRAFT is we have already begun a soft launch of this program. We started with engaging the ED FOUNDATION, D97, the library and the community at large at our 4th of July parade. Immediately below is the STEAMCRAFT information website. Since the 4th the film has been viewed 150 times, the website was visited 250 times and we have received 10 requests for sign up. Steamcraft is about a group of interdimensional beings that need a place to stay on earth while they wait for Halloween to arrive. Learners first have to get over their fears and next have to find ways of accommodating such a wide variety of guests.
These are real world kits that learners will choose from and put together in teams in well equipped workspaces.
Dream Stream as you may remember is a standalone tool but it is also now a part of the STEAM CRAFT program. We started with a cat – this is still in development. But we felt that we should release a beta version that features learning language arts with words and images. Our group of teacher advisors love the program and want it for the fall. Mckinley is a wonderful program tester. She gave us great ideas on how to improve the experience.
The following film shows ACE, one of our 4 year old program testers, exploring the pink tower activity. Ultimately he will help bring the facilitator guide to life. As well as share his playtime with children in a digital format.
Prodigy is moving along at a good clip. Below we’ve attached work in progress: filmed content of Taylor – the protagonist of the program. Also attached in a program broshure that we’ve shared with Chicagoland middle and high schools. We are getting a great response!
The Prodigy program has a star. Her name is Taylor. She is a budding talent and in many ways embodies the struggle of becoming a working recording artist. What’s great about Prodigy is it allows for many stories. What’s great about Taylor is, as the first actor to be featured, is a perfect partner. Specifically because she is so open to share her failures and her success. She will be a hard act to follow.
We are in the process of filming more episodes of The Tell. Most recently we filmed the opening sequences. To follow are images from the filming. The last image also shows how instant and perfect the studio captures people on green screen and places them into environments – real time.
Creatio was developed at the request of The Grow Greater Englewood foundation. The GGE is focused on Agro. After seeing the following development deck below, GGE pledged to activate 3 Creatio programs as well as retain HEPH to help reimagine education in Englewood. The CREATIO program is all about how to create better choices in a food desert. GGE wanted us to focus on youth culture. To that end we are featuring the characters of ORIGIN.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ORIGIN: The story of ORIGIN picks up from where the extremely popular and uplifting Black Panther movie and franchise failed to deliver. The idea being, a futuristic Black society returns to Earth to share its technology. When the learners viewed the teaser below they got really excited about seeing and hearing more. When we told them that this was part a teaching tool they just wanted to know when they could get involved.
A great opportunity came about this past quarter. Nascar planned on coming to Chicago. We were contacted by Christ Universal Church on the South Side of Chicago to create a STEM experience for Nascar. The Autorobo program is a perfect fit. Below is the film and the project proposal. We are currently talking to Chicago Nascar officials and Blue Cross Blue Shield ( sponsors of the event) about how HEPH can participate. Nascar is slated to be in Chicago for the next two years. So, quite an opportunity.
