As CodeMash and KidzMash kick off, I find myself starting in KidzMash! While I’ll be in adult sessions most of the event, you may see me in KidzMash throughout the event. My husband is volunteering in the KidzMash Makerz room as well as in the Makerspace. My kids are going to be with him more often than not. So I’ll pop in KidzMash to see my family from time to time!
Since I couldn’t find a workshop I really wanted to catch that wasn’t a Part 1, I figured I’d take the kids to a session in KidzMash. I first met Andrew Potozniak at CodeMash 2023, as he did a lightning talk on lightning talks with a goal of finding people he could play games with. He came in from Buffalo with the M&T crew, and it was great to learn more about him and his crew. This year, his whole family was there by his side, helping with this session on magic.
Making Balls Disappear and Reappear
In one of the demonstrations, Andrew and his kids showed the KidzMash kids how to take balls, make them “disappear”, and “magically” reappear. How? It’s the art of distraction and sleight of hand.
What’s neat is how Andrew’s kids showed how it’s done and floated throughout the room helping other kids learn the trick.
Balls and Cups Tricks
Another trick Andrew and crew showed involved balls and cups. Andrew’s wife was also helping, floating throughout the room, and calling for Andrew to show something to the group all over or in a different way. (Later on, I would learn that she has a teaching background, so she knows how to crowd control and pace these things with kids!) Towards the end of this talk, they walked through this trick together – Andrew using clear cups so you could see the steps in action and his wife using the solid cups that the kids were using. It was helpful to see how the trick was done with the clear cups so that you could know where things were supposed to be.
Conclusion
This is how my CodeMash / KidzMash experience starts. I’m really excited to see what else is in store throughout this week. I know Andrew is doing another talk for KidzMash involving an earthquake table. I also think he has a lightning talk on making a talk on lightning talks with a goal of how to find your community. He’s been chatting in the #lightning-talks channel in CodeMash Discord, and there are a lot of great ideas and fun quotes there! Hope you all enjoy CodeMash and KidzMash!