On Friday evening I attended the grand opening at the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) for the new Center for Innovation - Innovation Station exhibit in the turbine hall. OMSI's Center for Innovation is using our community's creativity and design thinking to solve global problems.  And its fun!

Tinkercad was also released for a new group of kids and adult visitors of OMSI on Friday as part of the new Center for Innovation exhibit. Children and adults alike can use custom content to create a hangout space to foster empathy and communication. This is one part in the flow of design challenges targeted at creating healthier community that together will thrive in the face of real world problems such as earthquake preparedness.

OMSI Makes STEAM Learning Accessible and Fun

OMSI wrapping up big redesign with new exhibit opening Friday

Here you see community partners speaking about this grand opening including Autodesk Vice President, Business Strategy and Marketing (Design and Manufacturing; Forge Cloud Platform) Greg Fallon.

This exhibit has been in the works for almost 5 years by OMSI and several local partners Cambia Health Foundation, Oregon MESA, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Union Pacific Railroad,  Vernier Software & Technology, and Autodesk. I got involved volunteering in the design of the exhibit almost two years ago over several design thinking, ideation workshops, and discussions. In one design sprint we were trying to figure out how exhibits could engage kids of all ages and backgrounds longer as well as something they could take home, I said “have you heard of Autodesk’s Tinkercad?” Tinkercad is part of this innovation stations for kids to design and it is not only fun and creative, but free and kids (and adults) can continue learning and exploring design after they leave the museum without installing anything - just fire up your browser and design in 3D.

https://omsi.edu/center-for-innovation

It was absolutely amazing to see something we have worked on become real and with people and kids enjoying the innovation stations including Tinkercad. I cant wait to see how it evolves in the years to come and most importantly the impact from the children it inspires. It is imagining and making a better world and what Autodesk is all about. Autodesk helps people imagine, design, and make a better world.

From Autodesk a huge thank you and hug goes to Pam Kilpatrick who was the catalyst in getting Autodesk involved as well as me. Thank you to our 2019 summer high school interns for creating Tinkercad content, Tinkercad product heroes Guillermo Melantoni and Wayne Losey,  Mike Warren, Greg Fallon, and to our LUMA practitioners Anton Fedoseyev, Chris Rohde, Aimee Tarlow, and Olivia Williamson who helped early on distilling ideas and goals.  

Some photos from the event:

Autodesk employees in front of the exhibit.

A child using Tinkercad in the exhibit.

Feel what it feels like in 3 earthquakes in this simulator.

Talk with others in this fun exhibit.

OMSI turns 75 this month!

Thank you to everyone that made this exhibit a reality and I hope Portland readers will go check it out.
-Shaan