The Explorer

We know how much you have missed our DML contests, and seeing that Thanksgiving is right around the corner, we have decided that it is appropriate timing for a new contest! We know you all will be stuffing your tummies with a lot of great food this upcoming holiday, but we also want to know what you are thankful for. Use Comic Life to create a holiday-themed comic detailing what you are thankful for this Thanksgiving. Maybe you are thankful for the DML contest’s return, or the simple fact that you are not a turkey waiting to be eaten!

Entries for this contest are due November 16, 2012, so don’t miss out another opportunity to win a cool 4GB flash drive.

Have you ever wanted to trick your friends into thinking you were somewhere as cool as the White House? Well the time has come again for another exciting Digital Media Lab contest which allows you to do just that! You will have the opportunity to take a picture of yourself with a Nikon camera and then use Photoshop Elements green screen effect to produce different backgrounds. Where will you put yourself? At the Olympics? On American Ninja Warrior? Wherever you choose, don’t miss out on one of your last opportunities to win a stylish flash drive this summer. The deadline for all entries is Friday, August 3, 2012.

Update 8/10/12: The judges have made their decision and picked a winner for our green screen photo contest. It looks like they chose Hasson’s photo of his younger brother Hussain’s victorious win over him in the WWE lightweight championship match. Although Hasson was not able to win the championship belt from his brother, we are happy to congratulate him with a victory in the Youth Digital Media Lab. Make sure to keep your eyes open for the next DML contest!

Summertime is here and the Youth Digital Media Lab is hosting another contest. Use your creativity to make a comic with your friends. Your comic should encourage your friends to finish the Summer Reading Club. You can use the iMac’s built-in camera or the Bloggie camera to add photos to Comic Life and add captions to tell your story. Don’t miss out on another chance to win a cartoon-styled flash drive. The deadline for all submissions is June 30, 2012. Hurry up – time is flying by!

Update 7/7/12: The results are in, and the winner has been announced. Congratulations to Brittany for creating a snazzy comic that encourages others to complete the Summer Reading Club – Reading is So Delicious! Make sure to stay tuned for the next DML contest.

This month the Youth Digital Media Lab will host a new Get Creative Contest. With more kids signing up for access to the Digital Media Lab, the new Bamboo Fun contest should have many more participants than last time.

Kids will be able to draw a picture with the Bamboo drawing pad and add a personal and creative touch to their artwork. So, instead of doodling in a notebook or on the wall, kids can doodle on the Apple iMac computers with the help of our handy-dandy Bamboo drawing pad. Winners of this competition will receive a cool, distinctive USB flash drive for saving future projects. The deadline for all submissions is Friday, May 25.

We are proud to finally announce the winners of our Get Creative DML challenge. In this challenge, kids were asked to use Photo Booth to creatively illustrate their artistic side. Photos could have been taken with or without friends and once completed, were edited to create illustrations of movement, cool backgrounds, or colorful affects that enhance the photo’s overall look. Judges took a look at all entries and decided that Angelo and Danielle created pictures with slightly more creativity than the other projects. This is not to say that the other projects were not talented, as the arrival at the final decision was not an easy task by any means. Angelo and Danielle both received USB flash drives that are attached to animated characters like Tweety and the Tasmanian Devil. Hopefully by providing them with flash drives for prizes, we will encourage them to use the lab more and save some of their future products on them as well. Check out the winning photos from Angelo and Danielle below.

As we look to spread the word about the Skokie Public Library’s new Youth Digital Media Lab, we thought it would be helpful if we hosted some contests using the different programs our new Apple Mac computers have to offer. From Photo Booth all the way to IMovie, the children enjoy exciting opportunities to let their creative minds run astray. We encourage all kids that come into the lab to get involved with our DML contests so as to partake in friendly competition with their peers. Friendly competition is something I believe is necessary to help raise our participation levels here in the new Digital Media Lab, and with technology always on the rise, these kids will prove to be somewhat more advantageous due to their familiarity with these products.