Trevithick Day Mini-automata Workshop
Camborne Library was bustling on Trevithick Day this weekend as children and their families dropped in for our mini-automata workshops.
Inspired by Richard Trevithick, the celebrated Cornish engineer, our workshop aimed to get children working with different materials and basic tools to experiment with making things move.
Simple materials such as clothes pegs and wire, along with basic hand tools were used to create mini mechanical marvels. Most of the young people who joined in had never used tools before, but many had seen parents and relatives using them and were excited to try something new.
A lot of effort went into decorating the finished fish, rabbits and birds with some really charming pieces created. Some of Fi Henshall’s automata were available to play with and demonstrate how these basic movements can be combined into more elaborate automata.
Thanks to everyone who came to see us!
Richard Trevithick was a pioneering engineer and inventor, best known for his contributions to the development of the steam engine. He was born in 1771 in Cornwall where mining activity in the area inspired his inventions. His Puffing Devil steam locomotive was demonstrated in 1801, carrying six passengers up Camborne Hill.
