WORKSHOPS (limited places)

All 50 mins max. duration. To ensure your spot please order TICKETS through EventBrite. Tickets may be available at the door 30 minutes before each event as well. Please note the suggested ages for each workshop. Adults welcome to all.

4:00-4:45 pm, 5:00-5:45 pm, 6:00-6:45 pm

Music Programming with Microsoft Philanthropies TEALS program (Market Square, Large Tent)

Hosts: Microsoft Philanthropies TEALS program, CS4RI, and Citizens Bank ​

Ages: 10 and up, adults welcome (10 to 12 to be accompanied by an adult)

4:00-4:45 pm​ Snap! is a broadly inviting visual programming language for children and adults; that’s also a platform for the serious study of computer science.  Participants will learn Snap! through discussion, programming exercises, and exploration. In this workshop, participants will develop an algorithm that generates sounds and turns their keyboard and/ or Makey Makey into a musical instrument. Participants can extend their program by adding visual effects.   

5:00-5:45 pm​ Engima Emulator: The ability to secure messages or decipher hidden messages have been pivotal moments throughout history. From the tragic outcome of Queen Mary of Scotland to the hunt of buried treasure with the Beale Papers, deciphering hidden messages has been a delight and frustration for centuries. In this workshop, we will practice our skills of encryption with an Engima Emulator and attempt to crack each other's hidden messages. 


6:00-6:45 pm​ Pong Programming: Pong became the first arcade game to achieve widespread popularity and is credited as the genesis of the modern video game industry. Today, the game has been played, remade, spun-off, and referenced innumerable times and it remains, to many, the single most identifiable and recognizable game in the history of video games. In this workshop learn to program the two-dimensional graphics, minimal sounds, and basic controls. Extend your learning by programming the Makey Makey as your controller.

7:00-7:45 pm, 8:00-8:45 pm, 9:00-9:45 pm

Using ‘Cloud Chambers’ to see the invisible sub-atomic world (Market Square, Large Tent)

Hosts: U.S. CMS & U.S. ATLAS Experiment at CERN, Switzerland

Ages: 8 and up, adults welcome (8 to 12 to be accompanied by an adult)

Our huge Universe is made out of tiny particles that are completely invisible to us, but imagine if we could see them! Cloud chambers are particle detectors that make the paths of these tiny particles visible, allowing us to see the tracks that they leave behind. During this workshop, we will build these very special detectors to discover that the empty space around us is not as empty as we might think!

Eight (8) sessions Starting at 5:20pm

“HANDS OFF” – How to play the Theremin (RISD Market House Conference Room, 27 Market Square)

Host: Dorit Chrysler, and Prof. Charles Hobbs

Time: 5:20-5:40PM, 5:45-6:05PM, 6:10-6:30PM, 7:00-7:20PM, 7:25-7:45PM, 7:50-8:10 PM, 8:30-8:50PM, Last session 9:00-9:30 PM is open to all - no ticket required.

Ages: 10 and up, adults welcome (10 to 12 to be accompanied by an adult)

The Theremin, an instrument that is played without touch, is still considered mysterious and is mostly known from science fiction soundtracks. Invented in 1920 by the Russian physicist Lev Termen during a period of espionage and surveillance systems, the theremin creates an illusion and deceives the eye: a box equipped with two antennas, this very first electronic instrument functions solely on transforming motion into sound. Experience playing the music without touching anything.
Host: Dorit Chrysler, musicologist, and composer, director of the NY Theremin Society and  founder of Kid Cool Theremin School, the first school of Theremin.
Host: Prof. Charles Hobbs, producer of the Hobbs Theremin