Hello Barbie Tear Down Sessions
The Hello Barbie Tear Down Sessions are a series of events focusing on the Internet of Things toy, Hello Barbie. The Internet of Things is a new field focusing on physical devices that are connected to the web. Mattel has made a new Barbie doll that kids talk to. As kids talk to the toy, Hello Barbie is using web technology to process what they are saying, and then respond. In addition to Barbie’s long controversial history, the toy has raised many eyebrows from both critical and technical arenas because the toy stores children’s conversations, available for further use possibly by hackers. This event series will start many conversations about solutions for these problems, ranging from reinventing the aesthetic, to reinventing gender roles and the technologies used to make a toy like this work.
Hello Barbie Play Day is the first part in this series. The toy will be made available to the Union Community so they can play with and understand its design. The Hello Barbie Pecha Kucha Night will be a series of brief talks on a wide range of topics that affect this toy and those who use it. Hello Barbie Take Apart will give students time to take the toy apart, learning how it works. The Mold Making Session will be lead by Patrick Healy, students will learn how to remake the plastic bodies in different shapes, sizes and colors. The series will conclude with a Hello Barbie Rebuild. Students will build new toys taking into account everything they’ve learned. Continued support for students looking to develop their projects further will be available through the MakerWeb.
Hello Barbie Play Day
2/4
Wold Atrium
10am-2pm
Come play with this toy and learn how it works in its current state.
Hello Barbie Pecha Kucha Night: 10 minute successive talks
2/11/2016
Karp 005
5:30pm – 7pm (refreshments at 5pm)
Youth Perspectives
Girls Inc., Schenectady, NY Chapter
Underspecified versus Scripted Play — How Does Talking Barbie Compare to (Silent) Barbie?
Valerie Barr
Professor
Artists Who Have Tackled the Barbie Doll
Amanda Ervin
Makerspace Coordinator
Talking Toys: How does it work?
Kristina Striegnitz
Associate Professor
Nick Webb
Visiting Assistant Professor
I Can Be a Computer Engineer: Critical discussions about this children’s book.
Jessica Sanford
Senior, Computer Science
Blonde, Blue-Eyed, and Busty: How Barbie (Mis)represents Beauty and the Female Body
Andrea Foroughi
Associate Professor
IoT/Embedded/Industrial Security: It’s not as bad as you think… It’s worse!
Tom Yanuklis
Systems Administrator and Systems Manager – Research Computing
Hello Barbie Tear Down
2/18/2016
Kelly Computing Lab
Wold 010 6pm-9pm
We will take the toy apart, figuring out how it works testing its boundaries, etc. Please register for this event via email to ervina@union.edu, space is limited.
Mold Making Workshop(s) with Patrick Healy
2/19/2016
S&E N114 3pm-6pm
Patrick Healy will guide us through the mold making and plastic casting of new, custom Barbie Dolls. Space is limited, please RSVP via email to ervina@union.edu
Hello Barbie Rebuild
2/25/2016
Kelly Computing Lab
Wold 010 6pm-9pm
We will remake this toy. Designs will be discussed and started. Makers can break apart into smaller groups with continued investment and support. Please register for this event via email to ervina@union.edu, space is limited.