PORTLAND, Oregon—There are no director's chairs. No calls for "quiet on the set." The characters are made of clay, paper, popsicle sticks, and plastic parts. And all the "action!" unfolds one frame at a time. Welcome to animated filmmaking, a perennial favorite on the roster of summer classes offered at OMSI*, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

OMSI began offering animation classes a decade ago in partnership with Will Vinton Studios, the Portland-based pioneers in clay animation. Although the technology has advanced since then, the guiding philosophy remains the same.

"This is unstructured, informal learning," explains Mat Sinclair, director of outreach and science classes for OMSI. "Students go from a creative concept to an end product that's theirs, and it all happens in one week. It's student-paced, so the class meets everyone's ability levels. Some are beginners, and others are producing commercial-quality stuff. They all leave feeling successful. And it's exciting. That's the hook."

During a typical week, two full-day classes take place in adjoining classrooms. Erik Anderson, a full-time OMSI educator, teaches one class of 25 students. Technical assistance is provided by Justin Myers, who started learning about animation when he was young enough to enroll in classes here.

Anderson brings a background in visual arts to the science museum classroom. In a previous job, he taught cartooning workshops as a way to promote student creativity. Animation has great appeal, he says, "because it's a marriage of technology, hands-on activities, and creativity. And students take ownership of the whole process." While adults might be intimidated by high-end digital cameras and computer editing equipment, he adds, "the kids want to jump right in. Even if they make a mistake, it's OK. They leave at the end of the week with a copy of their own movie. Every student feels successful, and some want to continue working with animation. Every week, at least one kid says he wants to grow up to be an animator."

In this informal learning context, students' abilities are wide ranging. One 13-year-old has repeated the class eight times over the years, adding new skills each session. This week, he's busy creating intricate moose characters out of modeling clay and designing elaborate sets for his short film. Other students have never used a digital video camera before, but they seem like old pros as they maneuver lights and props to set up for shooting.

A recent equipment upgrade means that everything is now done with digital cameras and digital editing equipment. Previously, gear called the Video Lunchbox* was used to store up to 230 frames. Then, the images were dumped into video. Now, students use digital cameras and computers loaded with editing software. The newer equipment allows for more special effects and custom touches. Eventually, Sinclair says, the museum staff hopes to create digital portfolios where students will be able to store their films online and view them via streaming video.

As the culmination of each week's class, all the students' short films are rolled into one video and screened in a special premiere for parents and other invited guests. Each student leaves with a copy of the class video.

In one quick clip after another, the videos show just how much students can accomplish in a week. One girl's film shows a horse jumping over fences made of popsicle sticks. Another student has used pipe cleaners to create "people" who bend in all directions, while another has created a moon-walking figure out of paper and brads. Some young filmmakers bring in their own action figures or even stuffed animals to star in their animated shorts. Of course, clay remains a popular medium in films where the storyline calls for characters to wind up squashed or flattened.

"In a weeklong class, students have a chance to narrow their focus and go deeper into learning about something that interests them," Sinclair says. "We provide the avenues for learning, but they ask the questions. They drive where it goes."