[MUSIC] >> A Chair for an Astronaut presents a seemingly straight forward challenge that incorporates a complex set of design thinking skills. Although the design object for this activity is a chair, the process I will guide you through could be applied to almost any object. To begin, gather the following materials. A sketch pad or drawing paper, pencils regular and colored, cardboard, box cutters or scissors, tape and assorted collage materials. Feel free to stop the video at any time and take notes. Here is your challenge. You've been approached by NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to design a new chair for astronauts to use in the International Space Station. Your chair design, which will be incorporated into the space station, should allow the user to sit upright, but also have the functionality to recline to a flat position. Lastly, whatever design you come up with, it should also include some component of exercise activity, which is something that is an issue for astronauts when they are in space for long missions and in an environment where gravity is eliminated. Your first step is to research and define your problem. You can use words or images to do this. Imagine what the environment where your chair will live looks like. What about the context of this object is unique? You might want to look at a range of historical or contemporary chairs as inspiration and help in your research. Your next step is to brainstorm possible solutions. Pause the video and take some time to think, fantasize, and generate ideas for a creative solution. Here's some guiding questions to help you brainstorm. What should the chair look like? What size should it be? What materials should it be made from? Make a list of words, and also sketch out some of your proposed ideas. Once you have several options, try to narrow them down. Go back to your constraints and compare them to your ideas, and choose the design that you think is the best option based on the criteria you were given. You could even take the best parts of a few designs and combine them into a new one. Make sure to annotate your drawing, so that it can illustrate how your object will function and transform. Your final step is to implement and put your ideas into action by making a prototype of your design. Transfer your idea by first making a drawing. The drawing will help you map out your ideas and also give you a sense of how you want to plan for your 3-D model. Once you're done with your drawing, grab your materials and render the 2-D sketch into a 3-D model. What information does each of these representations convey? What are the benefits of doing a drawing before a model? Now find someone to share your work with. One of the things I love about doing this activity with students is that you can see an incredible range and diversity of solutions. And the students get to see that there is not one best solution but often there are many great ideas. In reality, designers often work in teams, blending the best part of their own designs, to work toward a final product. You can do this type of activity with younger and older students. If you are working with younger students, you may want to either just use drawing or plan to pre-cut and prepare materials, and also help them with the construction of their model. [MUSIC]