What can you do with a thousand flat refrigerator magnets? That was the question I had when we received a donation of old magnets. They were part of an advertising campaign from 2005 for a local theme park. Sometimes it simply the shear number of a certain material that helps us develop an activity in MAKESHOP.
I thought it would be cool to make patterns or pixel drawings using the magnets on one of our metal pegboard walls. I basically wanted to different colors of magnets.
So I got some light paint and some dark paint and started painting as many magnets as possible. I prototyped some other ideas to change the color of the magnets (glue black and white paper to the surface, spray paint, etc). Just painting them with a roller seemed to work the best.
I figured that having just two different colors would make it easier for visitors to create simple patterns on the wall.
Also, magnets are always fun to play with.
-Kevin