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Project challenge:

dot doodles

Suggested Ages: K – 2nd Grades

Doodle your way into a world dotted with endless possibilities and new ideas! In this project challenge you’ll create at least 8 different drawings out of a dot! You’ll BE VISIONARY by thinking beyond your last idea to come up with something new for each doodle!

Engaging Design-It-Yourself projects to inspire young innovators

This is no ordinary DIY project for kids: It’s a step toward becoming an innovator.

 

Every Galileo Design-It-Yourself Challenge teaches the same techniques and mindsets that professional designers an engineers, artists and chefs use in their work. With skills like these, we believe you can change the world.

Get Involved—For Grown Ups

Materials list:

Help your child find these materials or a close substitute: 

 

  • 8 index cards or a piece of paper cut into 8ths
  • Pencil
  • Something small and round to trace (quarter, plastic bottle cap, etc.)
  • 2 colors to draw with (markers, color pencils, crayons)

 

Activity Steps:

Use these to keep your innovator on track as they create: 

 

    1. Trace a circle on each index card, changing the placement of the circle each time.
    2. Color in the circles to make them stand out.
    3. Be visionary as you imagine how to turn the dot into a different doodle on each card.

 

Be visionary tips: To help you imagine 8 different doodles, consider thinking about a different category for each card (animals, toys, parts of a face). Or try making all the cards fit under a single category (underwater themed, sports themed, etc.) See if one direction gives you more visionary ideas than another.

 

Guiding Questions:

If your child is stuck, try asking these questions to help them keep on innovating: 

 

  • Tell me about your drawings so far. What categories could you think about to help you come up with new ideas?
  • Are there any objects around the house that have circles in them that you could draw? How about things outside?
  • Think about scale. How might the dot be a detail on a large object? Or how might you make the whole doodle inside the dot?

 

More Ideas:

Every project presents opportunities to add your own twists or extensions. Here are some ideas to get you started: 

 

  • Try making more than 8 dot doodles yourself. Or make a bunch of dot papers and give a few to everyone in the family to come up with their own doodles.
  • Assemble the doodles together into a fun collage.
  • Try tracing more than one dot on a couple papers—Can you make a double-dot doodle (Maybe bicycle wheels?) A triple-dot doodle? What about if you split the dot in half?
  • Step it Up! Try setting a timer for 1 or 2 minutes and see how many dot doodles you can make within the time limit!
  • Innovate On! What other shape could you use to create 8 or more doodles?

 

Wrap Up Questions:

Lock in the learning by asking your child these questions about their project and how they practiced the featured Innovator’s Mindset element: 

 

  • Tell me about what you turned your dot into for each doodle. Were you surprised at any ideas you came up with? What strategies did you use to come up with your visionary ideas?
  • What are your favorite doodles? Why do you like them the best?