Mechanical Circus Family Fun Day

Mummy and Daddy Robot Automata

I had a very busy day yesterday down at Tullie House running an automata drop-in as part of the Family Fun day to celebrate the opening of the Mechanical Circus exhibition. From the start of the day to the end we were inundated with people which was great, but slightly exhausting! I have to say a big thank you to the Tullie House staff who helped me out, I think we must have made around 100 automata and I couldn't have done it all on my own!

Working hard

Seal spinning a ball on his head

The drop-in was based on the workshops I did in schools last year, the results of which are currently on display in the foyer of Tullie House. I think the activity probably worked better as a workshop rather than a drop in because there are quite a few things to think about when making automata and in a drop in session, especially one as busy as yesterdays, it is sometimes difficult to give every single person the help they need whereas in a workshop everyone is doing more or less the same thing at the same time so participants can help each other out a bit more. However, you live and learn and I think people enjoyed it and hopefully learnt something too.

Spinning purple fish

Amazing spinning man with candy cane and umbrella

Because it was so busy I didn't really have much chance to take pictures but I managed to grab a few quick shots to give you an idea of some of the amazing creations people made. Before the workshop started I was lucky enough to get a quick look round the exhibition and it really is fantastic, I'm looking forward to going back and having a proper look soon. I also met two of the exhibition organisers who were kind enough to tell me about some of the automata and give me a bit of a guided tour. So, if you're in Carlisle I highly recommend you go and see the exhibition (and admire the automata made during my workshops of course!)