No. 78 - Umarell : Star Stuff : A tinkering bibliography
Walking with a toddler by a construction site
My name is Linda. I write a bi-weekly newsletter about computer science, childhood, and culture.
Last week I had the opportunity to visit the computer playground construction site in Helsinki. It is awe-inspiring to witness something so complext come to life. Over the years I’ve seen all the work the landscape architects at Näkymä and the playground designers at Monstrum have poured into the blueprints, schematics and play equipment. Now, a completely new crew is bringing these plans to fruition.
I spent a good 30 minutes just observing the site. In that moment, I became an umarell.
Umarell (plural: umari) is an Italian term that refers to a person, often a retired man, who pauses to observe construction work in progress, sometimes offering unsolicited advice. The term is gently mocking but captures the essence of noticing, paying attention, and being attuned to our surroundings.
The wonderful people at Scope of Work are organising a world championship in umarelling, called Il Campionato Mondiale di Umari. The competition is a celebration for the noticing of urban surroundings and the categories are sketching, notetaking and open text. (I even submitted my little sketch to the competition!) The championship also offers a delightful, printable PDF for a scavenger hunt around constructions sites that introduces forklifts, safety barriers and scissor lifts.
The word umarell originates from Bologna, the same region that gave us the Reggio Emilia approach. It is fitting that another significant category of umarells, beyond elderly men, is umaretti—children. Walking with a toddler by a construction site is a lesson in paying attention. For someone under 100 cm, the world appears vastly different and dazzlingly new. It’s a perspective I try to switch into at least a few times a week when wandering the streets of a city.
Linked List
In computer science, a linked list is a linear collection of data elements whose order is not given by their physical placement in memory. But here it is a selection of things I’ve been reading lately.
The new Architecture and Design Museum in Helsinki is looking for a Chief Technology Officer to experiment with and build the digital experience for the upcoming museum. A dream job!
A tinkering bibliography. I love any project with its own library. Many, many favorites among these that inspired Ryan Jenkins’ new book.
Star Stuff is a cute puzzle automation game teaching programming logic in a fun and engaging way. Kudos to the team behind this project!
Classroom
I’m hoping to surface and share stories from all of you and I’d love to see your creations! Here are a few teachers using Ruby in creative, fun and inspiring ways.
The Italian Hello Ruby got a little mention among other children’s books about AI and robots.
Maker Month answers from PS328 in New York melt my heart.
Since there are no Ruby dolls (which I’m starting to think is a good thing, in the same way there are no Calvin & Hobbes plush toys), I always treasure finding ways people get creative. This red-headed girl, discovered by Tobias, is from Haba Play.