A fake kitty cat sits quietly on a table and its mouth opens and starts to erupt like a volcano but instead of lava, candy comes out. It’s not the creature in a science fiction movie rather it comes from the minds of 2nd graders in the Rose State College MyMachine program. The kitty volcano candy dispenser is one of the eight dream machines being revealed in downtown Oklahoma City at the Exchange on Film Row, Friday, May 20th at 6:00 p.m.
The invention premier marks the inaugural year of MyMachine in Oklahoma, the first of its kind in the United States. The STEM program aims to make science fun and asks elementary children to get creative and draw their “dream machine”.
The two schools selected to be a part of the inaugural MyMachine program in Oklahoma, are John Rex Charter Elementary School in downtown Oklahoma City and Soldier Creek Elementary in Midwest City. Approximately 160 ideas were gathered between the two schools last fall. The classes, in turn, selected and concentrated efforts on eight projects. The Rose State College FabLab, STEM Club, and Mid-Del Technology Center students took those ideas and brought the dreams to life with life-size prototypes.
Other dream machines on display include a banana launcher that looks like a banana and rainbow maker, a baseball machine, lava lamp fountain, push button rocket launcher, colorful shaped night light and rubber band launcher.
The MyMachine program began in Belgium and through a partnership with Creative Oklahoma is now in Oklahoma and offered by Rose State College. MyMachine co-founder Piet Grymonprez will be in Oklahoma City for the “reveal”. Seven countries on three continents participate in the MyMachine program.
Rose State College has plans to expand MyMachine across the state in the coming years. Following the reveal on Film Row, the inventions will be on display at the Innovation Station in downtown Oklahoma City at 133 West Main Street, Suite #102 (just off Robinson and Main Street).
Photo cutline: Volcano kitty was drawn by a 2nd grade student and fine tuned by the entire class before being built.