Inventions Galore!

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Eitan Shefer, Lagomorph, Science Museum

 For two days in June dozens of inventors, both young and old, descended on the Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem for what was called the Mini Maker Faire. This enabled them to display their inventions as well as giving hundreds of youngsters and their parents (and grandparents) the opportunity to touch, hold, operate and experiment with the various devices.

 I was there in my capacity as the proud mother of one of the exhibitors, Eitan Shefer, whose invention displayed his many and varied talents as a designer, musician and computer whiz. His amazing device, the Lagomorph, is a hand-held musical instrument with emphasis on expression and ergonomics. The part that is held in the hand consists of a device that is reminiscent of a joystick with keys that can be pressed to create sounds. In addition, by moving the instrument in the air the nature of the sounds can be altered. A screen displays gauges which indicate the intensity of the movement (and hence of the sound) as well as keys similar to those of a piano which respond to the manipulation of the instrument. Thus, the person playing the instrument is getting both visual and audial feedback. Further development of this feature is being undertaken.

 Israel’s Maker movement consists of people who think outside the box and are willing to present their work to audiences of all ages. At the Faire dozens of Makers showed their surprising and unusual creations. Among these was a bathroom chronometer, developed by Hanan Cohen, which measures how much time is spent in the Museum bathrooms. A ‘traffic light’ indicates whether it is ‘safe’ to enter or whether you should wait a bit longer, depending on the length of time spent by the previous occupant.

 Also on display were three-dimensional printing methods, produced by Tech Factory Plus, easy3 and Shlomo Hanasi. These printers, which are at the forefront of creativity, provided an opportunity for visitors to watch them work and examine their output.

 Another interesting exhibit was the musical salad, concocted by Arnon Gourny, which created a musical work, using kitchen utensils, while a salad was being prepared. This certainly provided a unique culinary and musical experience.

 Considerable entertainment was provided by the repeating parrot, developed by Arnon Gourny, in which a group of digital parrots made up a panel that responded to remarks from passersby. It was obvious that a great many people – both children and adults – were having a lot of fun with this item.

 Another fascinating exhibit was provided by the Arduino construction kits, displayed by Gil Wismonski, which provided kits for self assembly, thus making it possible to build a remote-controlled car.

 And many, many more, too numerous to mention.

 On the day I visited the Museum every inch seemed to be occupied by children of all ages and sized admiring and operating the various exhibits. The inventors seemed to be only too happy to show the youngsters how to deploy their creations, as well as to admire one another’s work and share experiences and enthusiasm.

 It looked to me as if a good time was had by all.

 

 

 

 

 

Pesach/Passover in Jerusalem

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Bible Lands Museum, German Colony Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Israel Museum, National Library, Philomena, Science Museum

  

Despite the dire warnings of traffic jams and accidents on all the roads throughout Israel, we decided to take advantage of a lull in our various activities and go to take in a movie (Philomena) in town. This involves a half-hour drive from our home just outside Jerusalem into the heart of the new city, the German Colony. This is an area, originally on the outskirts of the city but today pretty central, which was built by Germans, members of a Christian sect known as Templers in the middle of the nineteenth century. The original inhabitants of the old houses and tree-lined streets have long since left the country (some of them were deported by the British Mandate authorities during the Second World War, while others–including relatives of mine—were exchanged for concentration-camp inmates).

 The spring-like weather was enticing, but we resisted the temptation to indulge in a picnic in one of the parks in the Jerusalem area. It is at times like these that families and groups of youngsters go out into nature to barbecue meat, engage in rowdy games and turn their radios and karaoke equipment up to full volume.

 As we made our way into town we were able to see ultra-orthodox families with a string of children of all ages and sizes walking towards the parks and museums that are to be found in the Givat Ram area which houses the Knesset, the Hebrew University campus, government buildings and our own ‘Museum Mile’ (the Israel Museum, Bible Lands Museum, Science Museum) and will one day be the site of the new National Library.

 The families, all dressed in their best clothes (black trousers and white shirts for the men and boys, dresses and knee-length socks or stockings for the women and girls), were out in force. Some of the men wore fur hats, denoting their membership of one Chassidic sect or another, and of course all the married women were at pains to cover their hair. It has been suggested to me that this is to prevent them catching headlice from their children, but it is in fact an ancient religious proscription, harking back to the days when it was considered unseemly for a woman to display her hair. This was once common to most of the Western world but has since died out, although Queen Elizabeth still always appears in public with a hat of some kind or another (or a crown).

 As we espied more and more of these families I began to wonder about what lies ahead for Israel. Most of the people we saw will perpetuate the ultra-orthodox way of life, producing ever more children in a geometric progression. Most of those children will not serve in the army, will not work will not pay taxes and will benefit from Israel’s welfare society. If that trend continues, the burden of defending Israel and supporting its workforce will fall on the country’s shrinking secular population. Eventually a time will come when Israel will no longer be a viable country, and will either implode or be conquered by whomever is the strongest entity at the time.

 It certainly is a depressing prospect, and it is this, it seems, that lies behind the efforts of the current government – flawed as it is – to change the situation by obliging ultra-orthodox young men to serve in the army or undertake communal service, as well as to encourage them to gain sufficient general education to enable them to obtain useful employment. Whether this endeavour succeeds or not depends to a great extent on the political state of affairs, and the preservation of the current coalition which excludes the ultra-orthodox from the cabinet. One can only hope that given the pressures now being brought to bear on the government from various quarters, those at the helm will find the strength to keep the ship of state afloat.

 

In the Shadow of the Shard

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Bankside House, Big Ben, British Museum, Buckingham Palace, Globe Theatre, London Bridge, Millennium Bridge, National Gallery, Science Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern

We have made it a family tradition, as part of our Bar-Mitzva present to them, to take our grandchildren to London. This began about ten years ago, when we did this with the two oldest ones, the son and daughter of our son Ariel. A few years later we took Ariel and Galit‘s third child, Nir, together with our daughter Dana’s eldest son, Nadav. The two cousins have grown up together and are good friends. And last week we returned from the third sortie, this time with Dana and Itzik’s second child, a boy, Eyal, and Ariel and Galit’s youngest, a girl, Lihi.

We have also made it our habit to stay at the LSE students’ residence known as Bankside House in London. The accommodation is adequate but not luxurious, and the breakfast which is included in the price is generous by any standard. It is located just behind the Tate Modern Museum, on the south bank of the Thames, a stone’s throw from the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and the pleasant riverside promenade. A few minutes away lies the Millennium Bridge that spans the Thames and leads to St. Paul’s Cathedral. The area is well served by underground and buses, with restaurants and cafes at hand, making life easy for both tourists and locals.

Each trip with our grandchildren gives us a new insight into their characters and interests. On this occasion, we also found ourselves sharing our rooms with them, which was a new experience for us. It was a pleasant surprise to discover what kind and understanding room-mates both youngsters turned out to be, and altogether their behavior was exemplary throughout the week.

London’s skyline has changed radically since my student days there, and the latest addition, the Shard, currently the tallest building in Europe, towers over the area where we were staying. Opinions are divided as to its artistic and architectural success, but it certainly makes its presence felt, and enabled our Hebrew-speaking grandchildren to learn a word in English that they might never have encountered otherwise. Of course, other relatively recent buildings and monuments are also much in evidence, notably, the Gherkin, the Egg, and the London Eye, not to mention Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace.

As instructed by her ever-practical mother, Lihi bought herself an umbrella on her first day in London. This was an artistic version of the Union Jack and came in very handy when we found ourselves caught in typical London drizzle. We all developed a taste for fish and chips, indulged in ‘proper’ éclairs (not the inferior French kind), and wended our way inter alia through the British Museum, the Science Museum, the Tate Modern and the National Gallery, where we were treated to Yigal’s enlightening explanations.

As we were leaving the National Gallery, Eyal, who is already a seasoned traveler, spotted someone carrying a small yellow bag. ‘That’s m and m’s world!’ he exclaimed and, not knowing what we were letting ourselves in for, we asked where this wonderful emporium was to be found. We were sent in a general direction, and each time a small (or even large) yellow bag was spotted in a passer-by’s hand we were given more directions. Eventually we found the place, which is a paradise for children and hell on earth for grandparents, with loud music, hordes of children rushing around, an endless supply of merchandise (m and m’s clothing, m and m’s toys and m and m’s gadgets), and the actual m and m’s themselves in packaging of every shape and form. An attendant hands each child a basket as they enter, whereupon they disappear into the depths to stock up on the goods and the goodies.

Eventually we retrieved our two crazed shoppers, and emerged triumphantly with our own little yellow bags. Of course, as we made our exhausted way to the station to return to our accommodation, we were accosted by complete strangers asking where they could find the m and m’s mecca.

London and Leicester Square will never be the same. And in my personal opinion, good old Smarties are infinitely better.