This year, the Emoti-Con committee is offering three afterschool Design Jams that lead up to the main Emoti-Con NYC Youth Digital Media & Technology Challenge on Saturday, May 11. These Design Jams are opportunities for participants and facilitators to build new design skills, workshop projects before Emoti-Con, to meet the larger Emoti-Con network, and of course, to make new friends! Feel free to join 1, 2 or all 3 jams!

Check out the Planning Guide for Project Teams for more help getting ready for Emoti-Con.

Design Jam 1: Intro to Design & Ideation

Monday, Feb 25, 4:00pm-5:30pm @ Mouse
Brainstorm in style with expert help using the Human-Centered Design process to find unique opportunities for innovation.

• Activities (What is Human-Centered Design?, Rapid Brainstorming, Design-in-a-Bag)
• Emoti-Con Community Check-in (Share-outs, Q&A with alums)

Design Jam 2: Prototyping & Playtesting

Monday, March 11, 4:00pm-5:30pm @ Global Kids
Turn great ideas into increasingly technical prototypes (starting with simple paper prototypes!) that you can test out with users.

• Activities (Paper Prototyping, Game Playtesting)
• Emoti-Con Community Check-in (Share-outs, Q&A with alums)

Design Jam 3: Pitching & Presenting

Monday, April 8, 4:00pm-5:30pm @ 53rd Street Library
Create and practice an engaging pitch and presentation to make your project’s mission clear and memorable before the Emoti-Con project fair.

• Activities (No-Um Game, Elevator Pitches, Practice Mini-Project Fair)
• Emoti-Con Community Check-in (Share-outs, Q&A with alums)

Emoti-Con NYC Youth Media & Technology Challenge

Saturday, May 11, 11:00am-4:30pm @ New York Public Library Bartos Forum
The 11th annual Emoti-Con- NYC's biggest showcase for teen designers, makers, coders, gamers, digital artists and activists.

• Activities (Student Project Fair, Group Make activities, Networking with Judges, Keynote Speakers, Award Ceremony, Raffle & More)

• Bring a project to showcase or register as a guest: Emoti-con.org/register