Tim Burton's stop motion feature film The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my favorite movies, so I was thrilled when we decided to do a Family Adventures in Claymation workshop at the Museum! This quirky animation technique uses a camera to capture still images of clay figures. In between each frame the characters are moved ever so slightly. When the frames are played together, animation is achieved!

The workshop's attendees let their creativity and teamwork shine as they worked on their family films. There was a fish bowl made out of a recycled box (for a movie inspired by a new pet fish). There was a massive dragon complete with an internal pipe cleaner armature (for a movie about an ill-fated knight's adventure). There were cuddly clay bunny rabbits (and their tiny bunny babies), and a film named "Princess in Peril" that seamlessly linked together each of a family member's clever characters (a fairy, a knight, and a fluffy pet).

You can see the video of the ill-fated knight's adventure here!

We had a lot of fun, and I was extremely inspired by everyone's creativity and enthusiasm! Now, I may need to go start my own film career. Hmm...maybe a movie about KidsQuest Children's Museum? I'm sure it will be a blockbuster!

-Alison Lewis

Museum Educator