Hello! My name is Miral Kobt, and I created something called iLuminate. In my work, I use something special in both dancing and programming light suits, and that is… loops!
Loops are when you do something again and again. Imagine spinning a hula hoop around your waist. You keep doing the same motion to keep it spinning. That’s a loop!
Today, we’re going to have a dance party and learn about loops through a fun dance called The Iteration. We’ll learn some simple dance steps and then repeat them to complete the dance.
Pretty simple, right? You might notice that some steps, like clapping, are repeated. That’s a loop!
Let’s do it two more times. You’ll see that you can make the dance instructions shorter by using loops for the repeated steps.
Are you ready? Now let’s add a belly laugh! We actually use loops in our dancing. The dancers wear computers, and they’re all connected in the same network.
For example, I might loop the lights through the same dancers over and over. In the loop, I can decide to make the lights go faster, creating a cool effect for the audience.
And all of this is done using loops. Loops are important in computer science because they help us do things faster and easier.
Loop Dance Challenge: Create your own dance loop! Choose 3-4 simple dance moves, like jumping, spinning, or waving your hands. Practice these moves in a sequence and repeat them to create a dance loop. Perform your loop for your family or friends and see if they can spot the repeated moves. How many times can you repeat your loop without stopping?
Loop Observation Walk: Take a walk around your home or neighborhood with a family member. Look for examples of loops in nature or everyday life. For example, notice how the washing machine spins clothes in a loop or how a fan rotates. Draw or write down what you find and share your observations with the class. Can you think of other places where loops might be used?
Loop Art Project: Use crayons or markers to create a piece of art that uses loops. Draw a pattern that repeats, like circles, zigzags, or spirals. Try to fill a whole page with your looped pattern. Once finished, explain to someone how you used loops in your artwork. How did repeating the pattern make your art look different?
**Unplugged Activity | Getting Loopy**
Hi! My name is Miral Kobt. I’m the creator of iLuminate. In my work, I use something in both dance and programming light suits, and that is… loops!
Loops are repeating an action over and over. When you repeat something multiple times, like my actions to keep the hula hoop spinning, I’m performing a loop of that action.
Today we’re going to have a dance party. We’ll act out loops with a new dance: The Iteration. We’ll learn about loops using dance. You’ll learn a couple of easy steps and then repeat them to complete the dance.
Here are the steps you’ll need to learn:
– Clap your hands
– Put your hands behind your head
– Put your hands on your waist
– Lift your left hand
– Lift your right hand up
Pretty simple, right? Head, waist. Head, waist. Clap, clap, clap. Do you see how some steps are repeated, such as the clap? That’s a loop!
We need to do it two more times, ready? You will discover that you can shorten the directions by putting some dance steps in loops.
Are you ready? Now we’re going to do a belly laugh, ready? We actually do use loops in our dancing. The dancers are wearing computers and they’re all in the same network.
So I might loop the lights through the same dancers over and over again. In the loop, I might have an iteration where I say I want to loop through these six dancers repeatedly, and then within the loop, you’ll want to increase the speed so that you’re both looping through the same dancers and also increasing the speed of the lights, creating a visual effect for the audience.
And that’s all created through loops. Loops are important in computer science because they make our work shorter and easier.
