| 15/08/09 - Kids Get Creative at CCDI |
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 A group of Cape learners have enjoyed a week’s exposure to cutting-edge digital design and manufacturing machines at the Cape Craft and Design Institute’s (CCDI) annual Winter School. Eight enthusiastic children, aged from seven to 13 years, attended the first ever FabLab children’s workshop as part of the CCDI’s Creativity, Design and Innovation Programme. They created colourful badges, made engraved jewellery, decorated T-shirts and developed stencils using the state of the art equipment. The FabLab concept is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology initiative, said facilitator Pieter Cilliers. The equipment and funding come from Advanced Manufacturing Technology Systems (AMTS), part of the government’s Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). It is officially known as the AMTS FabLab Cape Town. “The FabLab offers design software which links digitally to manufacturing technology, such as a laser cutter, vinyl cutter and milling machine. It allows designers to develop and perfect a prototype of almost any imaginable product before mass production,” he said. “The children’s feedback on the workshop has been very positive and the parents are very excited too. Some of the parents and siblings have signed up for future workshops as well.” FabLab workshops cost from R50 to register for one day to R100 for four to five days. A second children’s workshop is planned for the September holidays. General access to the FabLab is, however, free to all, including the training. The FabLab is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 09:00 to 16:00 and Saturdays from 09:00 to 12:00. Apart from giving youngsters the opportunity to create the accessories of their dreams, it aims to develop local skills and products as well as help research and develop new materials, technologies and applications. The FabLab is housed on the 4th floor of the CCDI building at 75 Harrington Street in the CBD. The Cape Craft & Design Institute (CCDI) was set up in 2001 to promote and grow craft as an economic sector in the Western Cape. A Section 21 not-for-profit company, it is a joint initiative of the Provincial Government and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. It regularly holds workshops and other programmes to develop creativity, design and innovation. See www.cddi.org.za for more information. FabLab: Pieter Cilliers (021) 460-3813 / This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Issued by: Judy Bryant Communications 0832867168 / This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it On behalf of: Cape Craft and Design Institute Contact: CCDI 021-461 1488 Communications manager Marjorie Naidoo 021-461 1488 |