Wearable Technology, Girl-Powered

As founding partner of the new NYC public school Quest to Learn, one of the Institute of Play's projects has been developing and implementing Q2L's afterschool enrichment program, Mobo Studio. Presented in partnership with the Pearson Foundation and the Mobile Learning Institute and held at Quest to Learn, Mobo Studio has a focus on digital citizenship, mobile creativity and design. Supported by a talented team of artists-experts, Mobo extends Q2L's focus on tinkering, problem-solving, creating, and inventing.

On Friday November 13, the budding fashion technologists in Mobile Fashion presented their work in a well-coordinated, tightly-choreographed fashion show. Tasked with creating a line of accessories that function as a coded messaging system, the stalwart group of six began by examining their own closets and de-coding their own personal styles. Inspired by everyone from Chanel to Pucci and guided by their mentors Pollie Barden and Jennifer Boyle, the group researched fashion history, mastered sewing machines and pattern-making and prototyped a range of design ideas. The group also analyzed the nature of code and used smartphones to investigate braille, morse code and semacode as unique systems. As a result of these investigations, the group produced the "txt scarf," a scarf that carries a phone and enables texting and the "semacode purse," a purse that both holds the phone and displays semacodes that reveal secret messages. The accessories were a big hit, bravo to our young inventors!