Tops of the World: Kreisel/La toupe/ Koma こま/Atas/Dreidel

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Kreisel/La toupe/ Koma こま/Atas/Dreidel

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2021 Summer Program

Play is a teacher, an inventor, and an artist. Consider the spinning top. All over the world curious hands noticed the joy of spinning things. With experiments and practice, persistent hands discovered shapes and materials and techniques to make spinning tops an art.

Construct tops from hardwood, softwood, acorns, paper, steel and plastic. Use old tools (a lathe) and new(a laser cutter and 3D printer) to study the genius of inventive hands in Malaysia, Germany, Japan, Turkey and France. And celebrate your inventive hands.

Making tops can be easy. Mastering tops takes serious play. Make tops balance on one another, change colors, hum, follow tracks, topple skittles, rule games and predict the future. Most important: experience the satisfaction a top teaches when it spins undisturbed focused on a single point.


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