A few weeks ago the kids and I went for a walk downtown after their Saturday morning art lessons at the Two Rivers Gallery and spotted a small poster in the window of a pawn shop.  It was a photo of an alien head with the words RETRO emblazoned across the top.  It advertised retro books, games, movies, and toys – how could we resist!

In Retro Rentals we discovered a club/collective that offers not only a pretty fantastic scifi/fantasy film club, and an impressive collection of vintage toys, but discovered an incredible treasure trove of DIY synths constructed by PG’s best kept secret – Oro ( found online here and here )

Oro produces some DIY circuit bending treasures of the highest order.  Not only are the boxes and circuits he builds highly unique, but he really encourages people to play and explore with electronics.  As Gabriel strapped on a set of headphones and began flicking switches and twirling dials a broad grin swept across his face.  We spent over an hour playing with the synth boxes while Oro enthusiastically explained the design and how they work.  We were all smitten with the circuit bending bug and have already put the wheels in motion to build our own synth box as an intro electronics project.

Seeing the enthusiasm and wonder expressed by Gabriel as he explored the workings of these synthboxes brought to mind John Seely Brown’s insights on tinkering as a mode of knowledge production in the digital age.  More on circuit bending as our project unfolds – looking forward to the new discoveries of sound as well as introducing the kids to the wonders of hobby electronics through tinkering.

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