This project was called the World's Fair project because of the fact that we recreated our own world's fair, with groups representing different countries. Put and I represented the county of Canada and the invention we recreated was an ice hockey stick and puck.
Reflection Part 1
I chose Canada as my country to represent for two big reasons. The first was because of the many important inventions that they had created like ice hockey, the basketball, and standard time zones. The second reason was because of the fact that I didn't know much about Canada and wanted to learn more about it's history. During this project, I learned many historical events and facts about Canada. Some if these included the inventions they invented, the Victorian architecture that was at the forefront of construction, the preservation of natural resources, and the mass immigration of French people who created "French Canada." Many websites on the internet were dedicated to documenting the history of Canada specifically, so those sites were very helpful when gathering this information.
The items my group decided to recreate were the first ice hockey stick and the first ice hockey puck. We chose this item because the item fit very well with what Canada is known for, which is winter sports. I was also interested by the shape of the first hockey puck which happened to be more square like than the round puck we know today. The process of making the hockey puck wasn't too difficult. We found a 2 by 4 piece of wood and cut the piece down to fit the dimensions of the puck. After that we sanded the sides and corners down to match the shape of the original hockey puck. Lastly, we painted it black to match the original color. The hockey stick was much more difficult as we had to find the right piece of wood and cut long pieces to make the right size handle. After making the handle, we had to use the right size and angles to make the blade part of the stick. We then connected the two pieces together by cutting notches into each piece so they fit. At the end, we torched the wood to give it a more natural wood look instead of the singular color it was before. I'm pretty happy we recreated this item because not only did it show off an important part of Canadian history, but it showed the hard work we put into making the product.
The prototype we made was not actually a hockey stick or hockey puck, it was the first telephone. Our original plan was to make the first telephone because the inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, was living in Canada when he finished the invention. This decision interfered with Scotland as they too were planning on making the first telephone. Both countries had made the same prototype. In the end, a vote decided which country would continue with this invention. Canada lost so we transitioned to recreating the ice hockey stick and puck from there on out. Our prototype process though was very straight forward, as we came through with a good prototype within a day. We found a picture of the invention, and basically thought out how we would make it on the base piece of cardboard we had. After finalizing the plan, we used cardboard, an exact-o-knife, and hot glue to finish the prototype. At the time, this process was helpful and successful. After finding out we had to switch inventions though, the process wasn't helpful to us.
A lot of the other countries which exhibited were very interesting, but one country in particular that I would like to learn more about is China. The group had a very neat invention they recreated which was an old earthquake detector. The device was a hollow jar which had dragon heads and frogs hung around the outside of the jar. I remember learning that the dragon heads used vibrations to tell if there was an earthquake, and which direction it had come from. I would want to learn more about that invention and how it was used for helping people. I also want to learn about Chinese history and how that specific invention played a role in the country's history.
Overall, I am very proud of this project and how I contributed to it. The product turned out very well and I know I put a lot of hard work into that. I finished it on time as well as getting measurements to be exact. These products were made so the user could have a physical experience while holding the stick and hitting the puck. While they were a recreation of the original products, they were made to be physically realistic. I feel as though my booth could of been more flashy either with some Canadian food, or with lights. We did attract quite a few people who were interested in the country and I was able to deliver a lot of information, but it could of been enhanced if our booth had been more eye-catching. My participation at exhibition was very good. I was always attracting more attention to our booth and telling people lots of information about why they should consider visiting or moving to Canada. I was very knowledgeable and wasn't afraid at all to speak to anyone. I also went out of my booth at times to get people that otherwise wouldn't of seen us to come over and learn more about Canada. I thought exhibition went very well for me.
In general, this exhibition was very good. I got to explain everything I had researched along with showing off my invention recreation and my art piece of Niagara Falls. I also got to here the experiences of people who had been to Canada and what they loved about it as well as the people who told me how much they want to visit Canada. I liked connecting to other people about Canadian culture and history. This exhibition is one I will definitely remember.