Water is splashing around at Skidompha Library in Damariscotta the week of Feb. 20 as Gizmo Garden creates an electro-artistic water park. Twenty-three area students in this free, selective-admission program are designing and assembling their own computer-controlled, water-based “gizmos.”

Though the program is primarily a hands-on project, during lunches students have the opportunity to hear from scientists and tradespeople in the field of water. On Monday, Feb. 20, students heard guest speaker Dr. Catherine Mitchell of Bigelow Laboratory explain how she uses satellite data to study the color of oceans.

Other lunch speakers expected during the week include Lili Pugh of Darling Research Center, Dr. José Fernández-Robledo of Bigelow Lab, Bill Morgner of Midcoast Energy, and Garrison Beck of Midcoast Conservancy.

In order to customize their gizmos, students each chose a theme and planned how to express it through their gizmos’ operation. They will employ their choice of music, artwork, lights, motors, pools, sprays, waterfalls, and decorations to bring their themes to life.

Gizmo assembly began on Monday with students wiring an Arduino microcontroller to the “dashboard” of what will become the control board for a water pump. Later in the week, they will solder parts onto a circuit board that will control the pump, and they will write computer code to control the pumping action. 

By week’s end, students will complete their gizmos and then will chain them together so that water exiting one will flow into the next, completing the Gizmo Water Park.

To enable gizmo chaining, students will install drains and pipe fittings into their gizmo catch-basins in order to channel gizmo runoff into the starting reservoir of the next gizmo.  In their starting reservoirs, students will install level sensors that will signal the microcontrollers when there is enough water for pumping to begin.

2017 Gizmo Gardeners representing Great Salt Bay Community School and Damariscotta Montessori are Clare Colburn, Gavin Dolloff, Maggie Castelein, Austin Levesque, and Brooke Rethman. Representing Lincoln Academy and Nobleboro Central School are Isobel Petersen, Scott Petersen, William Sherrill, and Heaven Wadford.

From Edgecomb Eddy and the Center for Teaching and Learning, 2017 Gizmo Gardeners are Arden Carleton, Forest Holbrook, Christian Longobardi, Brynna Nelson, Carolyn Potter, and Marlowe Recoing-Tallen.

Representing Wiscasset Elementary and Woolwich Central School David Andersson, Iris Hennin and Oscar Hennin.

Representing Bristol Consolidated and South Bristol are Owen Dyer, Sage Kosky, and Ryan Naylor.  Gizmo Garden also welcomes homeschoolers Madeline Barcelona and Nathan Barcelona.

Skidompha Library is planning additional free technology-exploration opportunities for the spring and summer.  Interested parents should contact gizmomike@gizmogarden.org.