Teen’s Animation Makes Science Look Cool

When Kevin Temmer was told he had to produce a creative project as part of the International Baccalaureate program at Land O’ Lakes High School, he didn’t take the easy way out.

Instead of cutting corners, he dedicated the better part of two summers to produce a 15-minute animated video promoting the science fair and science to middle schoolers. Dubbed "Prepare for the Science Fair," the video has become such a hit, it’s been featured on Science 360, which is the National Science Foundation’s website, Edutopia and Intel’s Inspired by Education site.

The notion of creating an easier project never occurred to Kevin, 18.

“(I wanted to) make it entertaining,” he said.

To make that happen, he started out by recording all of the voices. He did most of the voices himself with a cameo appearance by his younger brother, Matthew, now age 13.

Once the voices were down, he moved on to the animations. Using a Flash animation program, he was able to draw most characters and key scenes only once. The program enables body parts in a drawing to be moved to create the desired scene, he said.

“It’s really like a digital puppet,” he said. “I taught myself.”

In addition to the drawings, animations and voices, Temmer also used GarageBand, a computer program, to create an original score for the video. He wrote the lyrics himself.

Why go to so much trouble for a community service project that only came with a pass/fail grade?

“I really take pride in my work,” Kevin said. “I like drawing my characters and seeing them take life.”

Kevin’s passion for the arts began at a very young age, said his father, Bryan Temmer.

“Kevin’s always been artistic,” said Bryan, recalling Kevin spending most of his spare time drawing as a young boy. “He kept getting better and better. “

Bryan said he and his wife, Robin, encouraged Kevin in his art, but never tried to push. Taking the hands-off approach, they were floored by how much their son was able to progress on his own.

When Kevin took on the animation project, Bryan said he would check from time to time to see how his son was coming along.

“It amazes me,” Bryan said.

Kevin does intend to pursue the arts as a career in the future. Right now, he’s eyeing Savannah College of Art and Design for a major in animation. He’s also looking into Ringling in Sarasota.

He says his dream job would be with Pixar and his inspirations are “Phineas & Ferb” and “Family Guy.”

So, why a video promoting the science fair for his own class project?

“My Mom came up with the idea,” Kevin said.

To help out, he consulted with his own middle school science teacher, Amy Basham at Hillel School of Tampa.

To see more of Kevin’s work, visit kevintemmer.com.