Welcoming the ... NINJA LEI!

Lei's are a popular island accessory, but when you are chosen to make it into a toy, THAT'S a different story. Pt England's year 7 & 8 extension group were told to choose a random number between 1 and 20 so we could be given an item to make into a toy. I chose the number 6, and I got given a lei. Now don't get me wrong, they are a lovely decoration, and if you were not to know what it is, you must have been living under a rock.

After a few days of researching,  I finally came to a conclusion: to make it into a Ninja Lei. It has super elasticity and it also has a lasso attached to the end. It is made for any ages from 8-13, because they have more fun with fun gadgets. The great thing about this is that you don't need to spend money on batteries because there is no need. Only one person can operate it at a time, and the aim of the toy is just to have fun, whether it's just grabbing things that are too far away or you just want to bring your dis-obeying brother back into your room when he's not listening to you. There are many things you can do with this amazing contraption!

History of the 'Slinky'.

“What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, And makes a slinkity sound?
A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing, Everyone knows it’s Slinky...
It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, for fun it’s a wonderful toy
It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, it’s fun for a girl and a boy

That is the Slinky’s catchy advertisement jingle. Slinky is a contraption which was made by Naval engineer Richard James. The birth of this toy is pretty simple but amazing. Richard was working when a spring fell to the ground. He was fascinated by how the spring kept going, moving. He then had a wonderful idea for a toy and,  so that is how Slinky was born. The Slinky toy debuted at the Gimbel’s department store, during the 1945 Christmas season. Even though it held a simple concept, 400 were sold during the 90 minute Gimbel demonstration. After a while, Richard got a bit tired of going around, promoting his toy, so manufacturers made a Slinky dog, which was the birth of Slinky the dog (Toy Story).

The BAR concept, is when you make something bigger, add something and replace something. This is really hard seeing that my toy is just a simple contraption. I would make the whole body bigger, I would add human features like a face, legs and arms, and last but not least I would replace the material from metal to CHOCOLATE!

So the Slinky toy has a very funny way of coming to fame. It only took a simple spring to spark up a moment of inspiration, which just shows that a silly idea might even become a worldwide sensation.

Film Festival

Walking into the crowded dark theatre, I saw endless rows of red plush chairs waiting for us to sit on them. While I was walking up the lit stairs, I heard the crunch of the buttery popcorn under the soles of my shoes. Looking down a dimly lit aisle, I went and sunk into the chairs and got ready to enjoy the 5th annual Film Festival on the biggest movie screen in the southern hemisphere.

The bright light shone on the small stage. As the two college kids walked up, the whole crowd started cheering and whistling at these two courageous men. They recited their speech and walked off excitedly, probably eager to get off the stage. All I heard later was One Direction’s song ‘One thing’ and I immediately was screaming. If you haven’t noticed I am a fan of One Direction. As the movie wore on, the crowd erupted in laughter every five seconds because of the comedic creativity this movie had. As the movie faded off I awaited the arrival for my friends Toreka and Makerita, who were presenting a movie that the extension made.

Our movie is based around the everyday choices that an ordinary person makes. IT was a walk through of the day of a Pt England school child, who is faced by a series of tasks and if forced to make a good choice or a not so good choice. There are two paths but both of them have a mixture of good and bad decisions because no one is perfect, we all mistakes and that’s what makes us human. You can watch the movie at this link: http://talanoamai.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/pick-path.html

So as the Film Festival came to an end, everyone was instructed to exit the theatre. Everyone lazily got out of their seats and quickly made their way out of the movie theatre. We looked like a swarm of red ants, pushing and shoving each other. The experience was great, because we got to see how other schools in our Manaiakalani cluster work with cameras and how they do their movie making. So it was a great learning experience for all our schools to come together and learn from each other.

You can watch all the Film Festival entries by clicking on this link:
http://www.manaiakalani.org/film-festival/2011-film-festival/2012-film-festival

How to make Homemade Play Dough

How to make Homemade Play Dough

You will need:

• 2 cups of flour
• 2 cups of warm water
• 1 cup of salt
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 Tablespoon cream of tartar
• Food colouring
• Glitter- Silver, purple and blue

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients and stir over low heat. The dough will begin to thicken until it looks like mashed potatoes. When the dough pulls away from the sides, and clumps in the middle, take it away from heat and leave to cool, enough to handle.

2. Place the dough on a silicone mat, or on a clean counter and knead until smooth. Divide the dough into equal proportions ready for colouring.

3. Make a little well in the middle of your dough and drop some food colouring in the center. Knead the dough so the food colouring can be evenly distributed.

4. Place in airtight containers if you are not playing with it.