Photo courtesy of Beam Center
This is a past event
Inventgenuity Festival
Beam Center
August 19-20
Governors Island - Governors Island - Colonels Row Green
Beam Center’s annual Inventgenuity Festival is a celebration of youth creation through projects in technology, imagination and craft, where kids and their families will recombine and bring beautiful new life to reclaimed and natural materials in a series of hands-on workshops inspired by Beam Center’s Summer 2023 citywide programs.. This year’s festival will also commemorate the launch of Beam Camp City’s project, seeAsaw, located on the Parade Ground. seeAsaw is an interactive and immersive structure of 6 seesaws, connected by a spectacular draping hammock made from rescued fishing nets.
Inventgenuity festival features a series of 45-minute workshops created and led by Beam Center youth participants and staff.
This year’s Festival workshops include:
Human/Forest Alien Makeup
Transform yourself into a creature out of science fiction: part forest, part human! You’ll learn Special Effects makeup techniques and combine them with foraged moss, branches, leaves and more. Inspired by the Beam Camp Session 2 Project, a movie about extra-terrestrial visitors to the New Hampshire woods.
Textile DIY Stenciling
Reimagine discarded clothing as glamorous fashion or useful. Learn how to add embellishments to any and all of your fabrics! Using paper, paint, creativity, and lil bit of heat you can add pops of color and shapes to everything- the possibilities are infinite! Fabric will be available, but bring your own shirts, bags, etc to add to!
Hammer Time
Craft unique jewelry pieces out of recycled vintage spoons and forks! You’ll learn metalworking and jewelry-making methods — hammering, embossing, cutting and soldering — to fashion pendants, key chains, bracelets and more.
Bop Bop
Create your own colorful wooden ping pong paddles. You’ll learn basic woodworking and customize your paddle by staining and printing on them using vibrant colors. Then it’s the first to 11 points!
Pet Rock Playground
Governors Island has a million pet rocks just waiting to be adopted! First you’ll find and decorate your own and then, with found objects and repurposed materials, will create a modular play habitat for your new friend to enjoy.
Adapted Animal Masks
Invent hybrid animals adapted to unique environments and create wearable masks using paper-mâché, repurposed cardboard and fabric. Add simple LED circuits to make them shine.
Additional drop-in activities will be hosted by Beam Center’s Governors Island neighbors play:groundnyc, a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming the city through play. Performances will be provided by Big Apple Leadership Academy’s Junior Empire Marching Elite Band and DJs from Building Beat’s summer DJ camp. Festival activities are free to all, but donations are encouraged.
Related
See below for past programs and events on Governors Island.