School Visits / Workshops!
We recently had the most incredible author visit from Merrill Rainey at our library and elementary school! Merrill’s interactive session had the kids creating with paper, scissors, and glue, and they were absolutely captivated by his big cardboard James the Dinosaur. His hands-on activities brought a new level of excitement and engagement, making it an unforgettable experience for everyone involved. We highly recommend Merrill Rainey to any school or library looking to inspire young minds in the creative process with a true expert!
~ Beth Emmons • Early Learning Specialist, Frankenmuth Wickson District Library
Our library booked Mr. Rainey for several events in 2023. He was fabulous! I was so impressed with how interactive he is with the children. If they weren’t a fan of his when he began, they certainly were by the time he left. For our library he charmed us with dinosaur storytimes, taught a stop motion animation program for tweens and performed a large scale book release program complete with props and audience participation. He took time to talk to each child that approached him and even brought lots of swag to hand out. We plan to have him back in the future because he was a joy to work with and was great with adapting to whatever was needed moment to moment.
~ Rikki Unterbrink • Youth Services Director, Shelby County Libraries
Picture Book Creator/Paper Toy Maker
Students will learn what I do, how I create my work, and why I started illustrating! They will get to see samples of each stage of my process and the steps I take to create a final picture book.
Materials needed: paper, writing instrument & clipboard to be passed out toward the end of presentation.
PK-1: 30-60 minutes including Q&A
Creative Play!
Through an interactive activity, participants will learn how I create my art based on seeing shapes and colors. They will then get to create an illustration using only colored paper, scissors, and glue.
Materials needed: scissors, glue stick, colored paper/construction paper
K and up: 30-60 minutes including Q&A
20-40 students maximum
COLOR, CUT, CREATE! Paper Toy Character Creation
This workshop covers my fundamentals of paper toy engineering. It focuses on teaching students that they can create anything they can imagine by putting a plan in place, then putting their plan into motion. This is accomplished with a step-by-step workshop which allows the students to create and then build their own paper toy character alongside me.
Materials needed: scissors, glue sticks, crayons, markers or colored pencils, additional craft supplies: ie: googly eyes, cardboard, scrap paper, toilet paper rolls, etc.
2nd and up: 60 minutes including Q&A
COLOR, CUT, CREATE! Paper Toy Character Creation & Storytelling
This presentation covers the same topics included in the Paper Toy Creation workshop and also includes how to create a story based on their character by using either a paper book format, a photo illustration, or stop motion animation. This session covers the use of story boarding as well as tips and tricks on how to make dynamic visuals. (If the host chooses to story tell using either photo illustration, or stop motion animation, the host must supply either tablets or cell phones with appropriate software installed, please email Merrill as to what software would best work for your participants.) * This session could be altered to still teach the storytelling aspect without the use of animation or photo illustration.
Materials needed: 11X17 sheets of paper,scissors, glue sticks, crayons, markers or colored pencils, additional craft supplies: ie: googly eyes, cardboard, scrap paper, toilet paper rolls, etc.
3rd and up: 2-60 minutes sessions including Q&A
20-60 students maximum
COLOR, CUT, CREATE Animate!
This presentation covers the basics of storytelling through the use of stop motion animation. This workshop covers storyboarding as well as tips and tricks on how to make dynamic scenes and visuals. (Host must supply either tablets or cell phones with appropriate software installed for this workshop, please email Merrill to find out what software would work best work for your participants.)
Materials needed: 11X17 sheets of paper, crayons, markers or colored pencils
3rd and up: 2-60 minutes sessions including Q&A
Toys From TUBES • Family STEAM night workshop
This family friendly event focuses on the importance of why we need to give our kids the opportunities to create. Families will be challenged to work together and create anything that they can imagine using paper tubes, scissors, glue, and other craft supplies. Toys From Tubes is a great way for families to connect in a creative meaningful way.
Materials Needed: Paper tubes of various sizes (most schools will put out a call for paper tube donations), scissors, glue sticks, glue guns, craft sticks, googly eyes, and other STEAM/craft supplies the school has on hand that they want to get rid of.
Materials needed: Glue guns, scissors, crayons, markers or colored pencils, crafts sticks, google eyes, chenille stems, donated paper towel or toilet paper rolls
PK-6 (This is geared towards elementary schools): 60 minutes including Q&A
Host a COLOR, CUT, CREATE Contest!
A Color, Cut, Create Contest! is a fun way to bring creativity and ingenuity into your STEAM school, or STEAM project with the use of paper engineering and technology.
