November 2021 Toy Hacks

The second toy hack, on November 20th, 2021, was significantly larger than the one in April 2021. It included 35 guests working in pairs or small groups.

This event hacked Pineapple Bubble Makers, as well as singing Mickey and Minnie Mouse toys.

We found this event significantly more difficult to conduct. The first reason for this was the increase in size. There were too many groups for us to easily provide assistance to everyone who needed it. The second reason was the use of faulty materials, specifically audio jacks. The shortage of experienced assistance would have been more manageable without the faulty audio jacks, since many of the groups needed help troubleshooting.

Most of the toys attempted were in some way unfinished by the end of this hack. This led us to host more, smaller events to finish the unfinished toys from the November hack. At these “Tiny Toy Hacks," one with eight people and one with three people, high school students from a local robotics team finished up the unfinished toys from our 35-person hack.

These events included new audio jacks ordered from a more reliable supplier. We tested that their electrical configurations were consistent beforehand, using a voltmeter.

These smaller events allowed the students to receive help when they needed it and progress more quickly. It showed us how having more people experienced in hacking toys, with a smaller group of new participants, is more efficient.