Introducing our Imagination Ambassadors!

We are proud to announce our Imagination Ambassadors! Through this program, we look to acknowledge and harness the energy of our experienced Chapter Leaders and to support and enhance their work in turn. Each has graciously agreed to serve in an advisory position to Imagination staff, and to assist in mentoring others and supporting the efforts and activities of the Imagination Foundation. We welcome and appreciate their willingness to help us grow!

Meet our Inaugural Ambassadors:

Steven Auslander (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Izzy Jowett (Santa Maria de Leuca, Italy)

Kerstin Rao (Westport, Connecticut

Steve Sherman (Cape Town, South Africa)

Christina Ung (Los Angeles, CA)

In the coming weeks, we will publish bios of each Ambassador and spotlight the exciting work each is doing in their Chapters. Our first bio, that of Ambassador Kerstin Rao, follows.

Meet Imagination Ambassador Kerstin Rao

Westport, Connecticut — USA

“Swept away by the charm of 9-year-old Caine Monroy in the viral film, Caine’s Arcade in April 2012, I immediately began including cardboard constructions in my classroom.

I ran a Caine’s Arcade interactive station at the second annual Westport Mini Maker Faire in April 2013. We were astonished by the enthusiasm across the ages as people built cardboard versions of stand-up video arcades, medieval armor, clever marble contraptions, and more. Shortly after this, I was asked to apply for the new Imagination Chapter program. In this first year, I was part of 30 Chapters around the world. At the Westport Library, which generously agreed to host our scrappy enterprise, we hosted a Star Wars-themed Cardboard Challenge for the public, and we were off and running!

Our grand finale was our coolest experience — performing at the Westport Mini Maker Faire using large-scale puppets we created. We studied the puppet creations by La Machine in France, Wicked on Guild Broadway, the San Diego of Puppetry and others. Our Westport Librarian friend, Karen Bruce, with a degree in puppetry, helped us sew and construct elements for our creations. In the first year, we had a Mongolian Death Worm, and several birds made of recycled materials. In the second year, my Chapter created wearable rubber ducks out of chicken wire and paper mache and used their parade to raise awareness of the Westport Rotary Club’s upcoming charity event, The Great Duck Race. The students were exuberant and the public was delighted!

We’ve incorporated littleBits, Ozobots, Makedo, MakeyMakey and SparkFun technology thanks to their partnership with the Imagination Foundation. This took our paper-and-pencil creations to a new level, animating them with motion, lights, sounds, coding, and cloud-based interactive technology.

I’ve moved my Chapter into my classroom the past two years, so I’m working with seventh graders on a weekly basis. Happily, I’ve also connected my Chapter this year with Izzy Jowett’s group in Santa Maria de Leuca, Italy.

Why have I become an Imagination Chapter Leader? Growing up, I was known as the paper-and-tape kid. I loved the challenge of re-creating things I read about in books, saw in movies and on television. I adored Leonardo daVinci so much that in sixth grade I walked around every day with a notebook tied to my belt, just like him, to be ready to sketch or capture ideas for new inventions. The sheer joy of supporting other paper-and-tape kids like me is what drew me to the Imagination Foundation.

Ultimately, Imagination Chapters are a place for the real magic of childhood — the ideas and innovation, the silliness and the quests, the teamwork and self-discovery that takes place when you create things yourself.”