As sneaker collectors my partner and I have always talked about additions to shoes that can make them better and in some cases worse. When we found out we could put lights on our own custom made sneaker we immediately came up with the concept of a light up Jordan shoe.
There was a wide range of shoes that could have been used, but we wanted ours to have a meaning behind it. Through our research we found that there was a Jordan shoe named the "Space Jams" inspired by his movie. We figured when someone thinks of space they think of stars and moon which can be sources of light.
We went out and purchased a replica of the shoe and began to put in our ideas and apply what we learned about circuits to make a shoe that doesn't look as if we stuffed a bunch of wired inside and made a robotic shoe. But a fashion piece of art.
We used a 9 Volt battery in order for the pumpkin to be lite up. We created a three series circuit. We did this so that the brightness in all of the LED lights could have the same brightness. After we did all of the calculations, we noticed that our light would only last eleven hours. As in the picture, you can tell that the LED are all at the same brightness.
The reason our circuit project is on a Philadelphia Marathon poster because the Marathon is November 18th 2012 and we our participating in it by running the half marathon and the full marathon. We decided to make the poster big because it reminds us of the posters that people on the sidelines hold up while we run. The blue and green lights that are on our poster represent Students Run Philly Style. Students Run Philly Style is a program that train teenagers, like us to prepare for the marathon. The red lights represent the color in the Philadelphia Marathon logo. While running the half marathon/ marathon one feels like a star so we placed the lights on the middle of the stars. The sneakers one wears are the foundation of running and the main part of training so we wanted to light it up to show the importance and significance of the shoe. A circuit is, a complete and closed path around which circulating electric current can flow. Our project is made up of a three parallel branch circuit that each branch consists of three light bulbs. The reason behind making a parallel circuit is because we wanted to make the light bulbs all the same brightness and last longer. The voltage drop in each branch is the same because each light bulb has ≈ the same resistance.
I had my idea really fast, but it's wasn't as easy as others might have thought. I call this my "Box Of Dreams". I had many reason to call it that but the major one is that it represents me a lot. It shows my artistic side, and a few things that I care a lot about in my life. This also has music that goes it. It was very fun to make it. I really liked doing it.
I first started with the idea I want for this project. I had a lot of ideas that came into my head, but I had to make something that would represent me. So I picked the idea of a music box because I love music and I can show my artistic ways better with this idea. So when the idea was set I had to think of a way that I can involve a circuit. We had learn a lot about parallel/series circuit. I was only going to have 4 bulbs in my circuit so a parallel wouldn't work for me. So I made it into a series circuit. I build my circuit and then started constructing it into my music box. I had a switch installed into the circuit.Childhood Obesity
Children in America are becoming fat. “Childhood obesity is best tackled at home through improved parental involvement, increased physical exercise, better diet and restraint from eating.” 33 percent of children and teens are currently obese. Obesity is among the easiest medical conditions to recognize but most difficult to treat. Parents feed their children technically twice a day. They feed them breakfast and dinner, but even though they are not there during the school day, (they can control what their child is eating in between the time.) What they can't control are the snacks they eat while they're not in their parents supervision. Unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise is responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year.The reason most children in America are becoming obese is either because they are following in their parents footsteps or they have no control of the food they are eating.Excess weight and obesity in childhood and adolescence has become a serious public health concern in the United States. Most of a child’s diet is controlled by the parents, parents should be held responsible for childhood obesity.
Weight loss is not a good approach for most young children, since their bodies are growing and developing. A restrictive diet may not supply the energy and nutrients needed for a normal growth and development. Parents and caregivers can help prevent childhood obesity by providing healthy meals and snacks, daily physical activity, and nutrition education. Increased physical activity reduces health risks and helps weight management.This is an easy way of maintaining your childs diet because between the ages of 6-13 because around those ages whatever your parent does more than likely,your child will also.Parents play a role model in their childs life.By excersising and making it fun, cutting down snacks and junk food this will play a good role and great beginning in there childs life. There is a lack of ready access to healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. Families in poorer communities often live in “food deserts” where supermarkets and grocery stores are scarce or charge higher prices for healthy foods than processed foods. Families with less income must often rely on convenience stores and small neighborhood stores that offer few, if any, healthy food choices. To make matters worse, many underserved communities, particularly in urban areas, have an overabundance of fast food establishments that are often located near schools and playgrounds.Parents also need to monitor amount of calories their child consumes.By the age of 13 an average child should be consuming 1,600 calories a day, and a more active child should consume about 2,000. However, children began consuming more calories in 2007-2008, they began consuming 16 to 20% more calories a day. Surprisingly for an average child to become obese they need to consume 64 calories more than a normal child per day. By applying proper nutrition, better eating habits and physical activity, any child can live a healthy life.
I chose to use an “S” shape for my sculpture for a couple of reasons, the first one was it looked kind of cool originally in the simulator that we were using to do tests. The second reason was because coincidentally it happened to be able to look like the first letter of my name, my name being Sean. Especially afterward I am glad that I made it like that because it really does, in my opinion, look pretty cool after it was done.
Artist Statement
It was a beautiful day in April at the outdoor flea market outside of the Eastern State Penitentiary when I first saw it. In the 2 years I had been attending this flea market I had never seen anything like it. It was love at first sight, radiant as it sat on the old creaky side table while its owner argued about prices and worth. It had so much history, someone’s “suitcase”, the box that once held their belongings, held in their nervous, excited palms, sweating with anticipation. I love thinking of the stories behind the person that left me with this object; the solid clink of metal as the gold clasps are undone, the smell of adventures, dreams and people forgotten escaping through the cracks. I believe this is much more than just a box, it once carried someone on a journey. Whether they were just taking a vacation or running from the CIA makes no difference to me. I now carry my life in it, (though I don’t actually carry it around in my room) it holds everything that I cherish in life. I am creating my own history with it.
This box represents me because it has a certain nomadic presence to it, like at any moment you could fill it up with a few things and just go. Thats how I feel I am, like I could pick up my things and go anywhere that the wind would take me. The lights represent my future. When I open the box and the lights come on it makes me think about my life in the future. I think about the places I want to travel to, the experiences I want to have, the job I want to have, and who I want to become. I also like that the lights will illuminate all of the things that I place in that box that I value. The objects have to do with my present and past which will consequently affect my future.
I love the quote by Lana del Rey, “I belonged to no one who belonged to everyone, who had nothing who wanted everything with a fire for every experience and an obsession for freedom that terrified me to the point that I couldn't even talk about and pushed me to a nomadic point of madness that both dazzled and dizzied me.” I feel like this box represents the freedom to do anything and go anywhere.
