Our Weekly Blog

Week 6 – Pattern Making Basics

12/8/2014

This week we introduced the concept of PATTERNS and TEMPLATES. We spent some time talking about what patterns are, why we utilize them, and some of the thing that employ pattern making that we experience in our daily lives. An almost endless number of familiar items could be listed that utilize pattern making in their creation – both hand made products we might make ourselves as well as manufactured goods.

When it comes to things made of fabric or other light materials, after a design is completed and careful measurements taken, individual pattern pieces are created on paper and then used as templates to cut the fabric, which are then assembled into a finished product by sewing, gluing or other means.

Here are a few examples that we could tackle as projects in the Makerspace or could be made at home for our personal use or as gifts. Makers can do their own designs and make patterns from them, or use one of the many patterns available online (and are often free).

Top Row: wallet template, vest template, finished denim three-hole notebook cover. Botton Row: finished Tyvek wallet, shopping bags and template.

Pattern making toolds for working with fabric.

Pattern making involves design, measuring, cutting and, finally, assembly into a finished item. Like all categories of making, pattern/template making has its own sets if tools that vary depending on the materials used and the nature of the finished product.

The goal of our first pattern making project is to give MakerKids a simple item to reproduce and, in the process, learn the step-by-step procedure that is involved in making flat patterns

Tyvek is a brand of flashspun high-density polyethylene fibers, a synthetic material; the name is a registered trademark of DuPont. The material is very strong; it is difficult to tear but can easily be cut with scissors or a knife.

For this project, MakerKids made WALLETS out the building insulation material called Tyvak.

Why Tyvak? Well,
it's easy to work
with, nearly
indestructible,
and, as luck would have it, one of the mentors had quite a bit left over from a home building project. (We’re ever resourceful and practical.) We will be doing more with pattern making in the weeks to come.

Here are MakerKids working on their wallets.

Designing and measuring pattern; cutting out paper pattern; copying paper template dimenisons to Tyvek and cutting out Tyvek; gluing Tyvex wallett in to finished form. Two examples of finished wallets.

Stay tuned for a cool pattern making project mentor Nicole will be introducing soon that involves custom vests each MakerKid will create and decorate. It's gonna be great!

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Week 5 - The Feeders Are Done!

12/6/2014

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SUCCESS! BIRD FEEDER PROJECT COMPETE (NEARLY). Most of our MakerKids completed their bird feeders this week. A few still have finishing touches to take care of. Let's give them all a big hand!

Sorry it has taken so long to get this posted. A family visit to California a while back and then Thanksgiving slowed thing down. Apologies out of the way, here are some excellent pictures of the MakerKids and their terrific work!

Group 1 - Meets Tuesday and Wednesday. NICE WORK GANG!

And Group 2 - Meets Thursday and Fridsay. NOT TO BE OUTDONE.

All you MakerKid parents should be very proud. We urge you to help your MakerKId pick a good spot in your yard to locate the new feeder and to provide some hands on help in securely mounting it. Depending on the design, the feeder can be mounted to a post, hung from a tree branch on a wire, mounted to a tree trunk or the side of your house.

Variety and creativity on display.

During this five week project, the MakerKids learned a great deal encompassing wide range of making skills: design, prototyping, careful measuring, the value of being open to revising (and improving) ideas, carpentry, metal working, and coping with construction problems.

They exhibited great positive energy and resourcefulness during the entire project and added significantly to their growing set of making skills – skills that will serve them well on future MakerKid projects and elsewhere.

Jody Soules at the Wild Bird Country Store on Main Street in Great Barrington.

A great big SHOUT OUT AND THANK YOU TO JODY SOULES, owner and proprietor of the Wild Bird Country Store in Great Barrington, for agreeing to be interviewed and share her vast knowledge of wild birds.

Jody also generously donated bird seed for all our MakerKids to bring home with their feeders. Whether you have already been feeding birds in your yard or not, we hope your new handmade feeders will stimulate your interest in our wild winged neighbors. Wild birds are fascinating to watch and most certainly are an important member of our local ecosystem.

Here are two short video we made from the interview with Jody. There is excellent information on bird behavior and eating habits I think you will really enjoy and find useful.

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Weeks 3 and 4 - Feeder Designs Coming Together

11/18/2014

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The Thursday/Friday MakerKIds review what their making tasks are for the day with Mentors Del and Paul.

During the weeks three and four sessions, progress continued on our bird feeders. At the start of each session, we reviewed where each MakerKId was in the design and building process. Each maker worked at their own pace, focusing on different aspects of the project.

MakerKids finish paper prototypes and make carefiul measurements to transfer to wood and other materials that will be used for building their bird feeders.

Some of the MakerKids were working on completing their paper prototyes. Others were carefully measuring the prototypes and marking lumber before cutting out the parts for their bird feeders.

Mentor Paul demonstrates proper use of disc sander. MakerKids sand, saw, drill, hammer, glue, and cut screen in the construction of their bird feeders.

By the end of week four, many MakerKids were in the final stages of construction of their bird feeders and completing the finishing touches. They are in the home stretch!

MakerKids attach roofs, do final nailing, gluing and drilling, paint and attach feeders to bases.

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Week 2. Good Progress, see the pictures!

10/25/2014

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Paul escorting some of the Tuesday-Wednesday MakerKids to our makerspace.

During our first week, the concept for the Bird Feeder Project was introduced. We spent time brainstorming ideas to incorporate in our feeder designs. The project called for the use of wood and metal in the design, but other materials can also be employed.

We brainstomred ideas/design features to conmsider incorporating in our bird feeders. When brainstorming, there is no such thing az a bad idea.

We spent time brainstorming ideas to incorporate in our feeder designs. The project called for the use of wood and metal in the design, but other materials can also be employed.

WEEK 2

Now, in Week 2, work on the bird feeders began in earnest.

Paul and the MakerKids trade ideas about bird feeder design,

The first step was a review discussion of desirable design features. The mentors set up a table displaying materials other than wood and metal that that could be used: PVC pipe, wire mesh, flexible tubing, roofing shingles, and plastics.

Some of the wood that can be used for the feeders. The "other materials" table with a selection of options in addition to wood and metal.

We showed some images of a design one of the mentors worked up in sketch for. The purpose was to get the MakerKids thinking about the design process, not to copy the design itself.

Nicole "presented" her design ideas to the MakerKids and explained how she worked up the details of the feeder design and arrived at a design concept she liked.

Then the MakerKids began sketching their ideas. Once the sketches seemed to be working, it was time to begin creating paper prototypes.

Developing the skill to express an idea in a drawing is an important making skill. In fact, it has great application far beyond making. We encourage our MakerKids to work in this.

Prototyping allows us to clearly visualize the scale and overall shape of the finished design. It’s an important step in the design process that allows us to actually see the design in three dimensions without spending significant construction time or using costly materials.

Making paper prototypes involves translating a rough concept sketch into a 3-dimensional model that is measured roughly to the same size (or scaled to correspond to) the finished design.

Going directly from rough concept sketch of a bird feeder to a finished product made from wood and metal is too big a leap and usually results in a finished product that could have been better with more thought and planning. The use of prototyping will be a regular step in our design development process.

Each MakerKids completed a paper prototype and then discussed their overall design ideas and choice of materials with the mentor team.

Paul and MakerKids exchanging ideas about the use of unusual materials to make a unique feeder design.

Then, it was time to transfer the dimensions from the prototype to the materials that would be part of the finished feeder to be used as the base, walls, roof, perches, seed storage area and so on.

MakerKids take measurements off paper prototypes and apply them to the wood pieces they have selected for their feeders.

Cutting of wood and metal components was done by the MakerKids with close supervision by the mentors. In some cases, cutting required the use of an electric jig saw which was done by a
mentor.

MakerKids with carefully measured wood elements for their feeders are lined up for Paul to cut them out with our electric jig saw.

As our Week 2 sessions came to a close, many MakerKids had most or all of the pieces needed to assemble their bird feeders cut out and ready to put together.

MakerKids writing in their journals. Many are making lists of what they will need to do when they return next week.

As is our practice, each session ends with the MakerKids spending time writing in their journals.

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Our 1st Week is History! Read About It! See Pictures!

10/13/2014

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Well, our first week back in the Makerspace for the fall 2014 term is now behind us. We'd say it was a success! We have 23 returning MakerKid “veterans” from the program we began last year and all were eager to get to work!

A discussion and Q & A on plans for this year's MakerKids program.

You might know from reading elsewhere on this website (if you are not a MakerKid parent) that we have gone from a 1-day-per-week program to 2-days per week. There are 12 MakerKids in the Tuesday/Wednesday group, and 11 in the Thursday/Friday group. It’s too early to tell with certainty, but we are confident the addition of a second day each week will result in a deeper richer program

A few shots illustrating our new ly improved and reorganized Makerspace and some new of our new tools and equipment.

Peter working on setting up CNC router.

We began the first session with a brief tour of our new reorganized Makerspace. Since the end of the last school year, we have had an infusion of funding: from the school administration and a successful grant award from the Eagle Fund. This has allowed us to purchase much a number-needed hand tools, electric tools and materials.

As a result, we rearranged the space in what we think is a more efficient way. We now have a dedicated electronics bench and a well organized area for hand tools and three work-group tables.

One of our mentors, Peter Lindstrom, is an expert in electronics and is lending us a working CNC router that we are eager to put into use. In the tools department, our future wish list includes a 3-D printer and a laser cutter (if anyone wants to donate toward either we’d be really grateful).

A video from the extraordinary web learing resource, the Kahn Academy.

We showed a wonderful video made by the Kahn Academy, titled “You Can Learn Anything” – a philosophy we enthusiastically subscribe to! We consider it exceptionally inspirational and think you will agree! Here is the link.

MakerKids watch Charles Eames Powers of 10 video.

We discussed the concept of scale and the use of powers of 10 as a means to compare the relative sizes and distances of things. We also showed the famous Charles and Ray Eames Powers of 10 Video made in 1977. Click here to watch.

MakerKids demonstrate their measuring skills.

MakerKids practiced with electric drills, hand saws and powered jigsaw.

Our first activity was instruction in carpentry and electronics, with exercises to build skills in both. The MakerKids practiced their measuring skills and worked with hand saws and electric drill used for drilling holes and screwing in screws.

Mentor Peter demonstrates soldering, MakerKids practice their soldering skills.

They practiced stripping insulation off coper wire, using the soldering iron for joining wires. One of our mentors began explaining the function and use of micro controllers like Raspberry Pi and Arduino. Mastering wood working tools and gaining competency in basic electronics are key goals for the program.

Peter points out the features of a Rasphberry Pi board. MakerKid strips insulation off wire before soldering.

First Project of the Year
Our first project for the year is a Smart Bird Feeder. We expect this project will take at least 3 weeks to complete and involve carpentry, metal work, and electronics.

Here’s a description of the Smart Bird Feeder project. Each MakerKid will design and build a bird feeder to take home when completed and install somewhere in their yard. Wood and metal are specified as materials must be used in the design and construction (bringing into play carpentry and metal work). If desired, MakerKids can also incorporate other materials such as plastic, recyclables, and so on.

A smart bird feeder that sents video images to a remote locating wirelessly.

A key project goal is the inclusion of electronic component(s) that facilitate communication some information from the feeder to a distant location – inside one’s home, for example.

One bird feeder will also be designed and built by the group for installation on the Undermountain campus in the proximity of the 4th and 5th grade classes. This feeders will have more elaborate electronics – perhaps including a webcam.

We spent a good deal of time discussing sbirds and bird feeders and brainstormed what would make a good feeder. This discussion and the criteria derived will inform the design process.

A brainstorming session in progress.

A list of attributes of a good bird feeder. Paul uses a simple bird feeder to point out key features.

After brainstorming, each MakerKid began sketching ideas for their individual feeders. This process will be continued in Week 2. The mentors will meet with each MakerKid to discuss and evaluate their design and think about refinements.

Sketching design ideas in personal journal

PROJECT STEPS

1. Learn about local birds. Select birds you want to
have use your bird feeder

2. Research the ideal bird feeder for your birds.

3. Plan and design your bird feeder to fit your bird’s
   habits and preferences.

4. Survey your house and yard. Pick a location for the
bird feeder.

5. Create a paper bird feeder. Remember, the design
must incorporate wood and metal materials.

6. Optional: Make a cardboard prototype.

7. Plan your final design. Include wood and metal.

8. Research and specify the “smart” technology.
There will probably be several options.

9. Build your bird feeder. Add “smart” electronic
components and complete wiring.

10. Write computer code that allows the electronic to
communicate with eachother. Test the electronics.

11. Take Bird Feeder home and mount in yard.
   Connect electronics. Montor feeder and feeding activity.

12. At home: observe birds, record activity and make
field notes on bird behavior aroud the bird house.
Hook up the electronics.

13. Make a final journal entry on the project. Describe
  results, and conclusions. Note your successes as
well as anything that could be improved upon if
    you were to repeat the project.

If you are interested in learning about the project in detail, go to the MakerKids Project Info page by clicking here.

Journaling
It has been our practice to end each session with some time for reflection. MakerKids record their thoughts on what they did that day with a journal entry.

Coming in Week #2
A metalworking exercise wil be part of Week 2’s activities. We expect more detailed planing will begin next week as well and the building of prototypes. Actual construction may begin next week, or begin in Week 3,

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MakerKids - Welcome Back! Fall 2014

10/2/2014

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Hi MakerKids and MakerKid Parents,

WELCOME BACK MAKERKIDS and PARENTS

This is our first post for the new school year. We're posting the
letter we emailed to all the parents of kids who were in last year's program. We very pleased that so many of you are coming back!

For those of you returning, we're very exciited you're continuing with making. We have some very cool plans we can't wait to share with you!

Both MakerKids (and Parents) should start checking with this website every week.

berkshiremakerkids.org/

We're doing something new with the website this year. We're going to use berkshiremakerkids.org to talk about our weekly projects and to suggest things you can do at home between sessions if you're interested. We've reorganized the website and think it will be a lot more useful. You should check out the following topics weekly.

1. MakerKids Project Info
This is primarily for the kids to see what is coming up next.
Kind of like a preview of projects to come.
2. MakerKids Blog
We think you parents will like this page to learn what your
child is doing and to see pictures of the activity.
3 . MakerKids Links
There is so much of interest relating to making and to the
concepts that underly everything we do, that we are using
the Links page to lead you to cool videos, images and
information about making and STEM subject. It will a fun
place to explore and we'll be adding to it regularly.

We looking forward to seeing you all in the weeks to come,
Paul, Tim and the rest of the Maker Mentors

Below is the letter we sent out to all the families that participated in the program last year, inviting them back, explaining the changes we will be making in the schedule and why
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear MakerKIds parents,

With school starting, this seems like to perfect time to talk to you about our plans for the MakerKids program this school year.

We felt extremely positive about the MakerKids program this past school year as it introduced exciting hands on learning opportunities to the participating kids. We’re gratified that they seemed to really enjoy it. We hope you were getting positive feedback at home too! At our last sessions in May, we asked each of the three groups if they wanted to continue in the fall. Informally, there was a lot of interest. It appeared nearly everyone raised their hand. We have our fingers crossed that this enthusiasm for making remains strong after a summer away from school. We look forward the continuing on the same path this fall and, if anything, extend the challenge and the fun. This letter is our invitation to your child to continue with the MakerKids program this school year. MakerKid sessions will tentatively begin the week of October 6.

I think it’s fair to say that along the the kids, we mentors learned a lot too. While the objectives of the program going forward remain unchanged, our experience running the program taught us a few things and revealed ways we think could be incorporated to improve the experience for the kids and deepen the learning. In short, we think we can do better.

The main issue, the main limitation, turned out to be time. This past school year, we had one two-hour session per week with your child. Between picking the kids up at the elementary school at 3:00 pm, escorting them over to the makerspace and returning to the main building for pickup by you at 5:00 pm, precious little time was left for the making itself – not to mention important related aspects surrounding the actual building process. For example, reflecting on the experience, reviewing the underlying concepts, journalizing, discussing what one might do differently if the opportunity existed to make a revised version of the project and so on. Taking nothing away from what was accomplished by the kids and their obvious enjoyment, the program would be richer and the learning more significant if each project did not need to be compressed into such a short amount of time.

The projects we did last year were intentionally fairly simple. Now, with the kids having some making experience under their belts and being a year older. we plan to present more challenging projects to them this year. We would like to be able to engage them for more time each week than was possible in a single two-hour weekly session. Over the summer we met with the administration several times and discussed options on how this might be accomplished. Really, there is only on workable solution: change from one-session-per-week to two-sessions-per-week.

We know your kids have very busy schedules and may have other after school commitments. Still, we feel we need to expand the time commitment for the MakerKids program to two day per week from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm will make for a far richer experience. We hope you and your child is likes the idea of two sessions a week and can fit it in with other activities.

We will be offering the program Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We’re aiming for about 12 kids in each two-day session. At this point we have not decided if there will be a Tuesday-Wednesday group and a Thursday-Friday group, or if the groups will meet Tuesday-Thursday and Wednesday-Friday. We will try to work out these logistics with your input on your child’s schedule. Most importantly at this point, we need to hear from you. Is your child interested in the two days per week program and if so what days are possible given the options outlined in the paragraph above?

If you want to sign up your child up for the two-day MakerKids program, please select one of the options below:

Option 1
Tuesdays and Wednesdays sessions - 3pm to 5pm

or

Option 1A
Thursdays and Fridays sessions - 3pm to 5pm

Option 2
Tuesdays and Thursdays sessions - 3pm to 5pm

or

Option 2A
Wednesdays and Fridays sessions - 3pm to 5pm

Option 3

My child could attend any two days. (This option is the best for us as it will allow us more flexibility to organize equal sized groups.

Respond with your answer by email indicating the option preferred. Once we have know everyone’s preferences we will set the groups for either Tuesday/Wednesday and Thursday/Friday sessions, or Tuesday/Thursday and Wednesday/Friday sessions. Please respond soon. If we do not hear from you we will have to assume your are not interested.

If your child has friends that did not participate last year, we want everyone to know we hope to organize our spring program to accommodate new makers.

Finally, one of the things we could have done better last year was communication with you as parents. We vow to do better this time around. We want to make sure you know what you child is doing at MakerKids every week. We welcome dialogue with you about how the program can be enhanced and how your child is doing. As you probably know, we have a website – berkshiremakerkids.org – that we put up last spring. It is the place to go for information about Berkshire MakerKids. Specifically, there is a blog on the site designed for the kids and parents that we see as the tool to communicate about the projects the kids are working on. This fall we will be expanding the blog so that every project will be covered. We encourage you to take a look every week to see what’s going on.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,
Paul O’Brien
Tim Newman Berkshire MakerKids Program Managers

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Pasta Bridge Buildidng Project Awards

5/20/2014

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Hi Berkshire MakerKids Parents and Friends

Early in April, we did a great project that made use of dried pasta as the primary material and a glue gun as the main tool. The objective was to make a bridge designed to support weight as the demonstration of its structural integrity. Once the bridges were all built, we tested them one at a time with weight – starting with small amounts applied to the bridge, and added weight incrementally until the bridge collapsed. The point was the more weight the bridge could support was a demonstration of its design efficiency. It was really fun and we learned a lot about how to combine pasta sticks for maximum structural integrity.

Here is a video from an upper school class at another school that shows what building this kind of project is like. Check it out!

And here are two of our winners from the MakerKids Bridge Project Competition.

Great work by the winners, and by everyone!

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The Science of Propulsion

4/20/2014

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Hi Berkshire makerKids Parents and Friends

This week we looked looked at the SCIENCE OF PROPULSION two different ways. We started our sessions in the Library Computer Lab experimenting with an online bottle rocket simulator, and then moved to our MakerSpace shop where we build tabletop catapults using household items like rubber bands, popsicle sticks and plastic spoons.

Here are some images of the cool bottle rocket simulator we used at the Computer Lab.

The simulator designed to investigate the elements of propulsion. We learned about thrust, drag, and velocity and how the design parameters influence the maximum altitude and velocity of the rocket. Parameters is another word for variables.

The big challenge: how to balance the individual parameter values that result in the maximum altitude of the rocket. On the rocket launch control panel above each [ ? ] is a parameter. We learned that to achieve the best result we should only experiment with one parameter at a time. Otherwise you can’t really tell what parameter is influencing change.

You can try it at home by clicking on the link.
http://www.neptunemediaworld.com/flash/bottlerocket2Dv1_2.swf

By typing in values for each [ ? ] and clicking launch, the simulator launches the rocket and displays a flight report. On Thursday, our highest altitude was 40 meters. See if you can beat that. To get the best result you need to be patient, changing the parameters one at a time.

From what we learned about the parameters from the computer simulation our MakerKids would have a real head start on building actual water bottle rockets using plastic water bottles. We will probably make that a project for our final week.

Before we left the Computer Lab we began a challenge to match up inventors names to what they are famous for inventing. We used Google to help gather information about the inventors. We’ll finish this challenge up after vacation.

After we moved over to the Makerspace, we worked on building marshmallow catapults made from a variety of household supplies like rubber bands, plastic spoons, masking tape, popsicle sticks, wood skewers, and marshmallows.

It was harder that it looks to make a catapult that would shoot a small marshmallow a long distance but really fun. Check back week after next for our final session. ;-)

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Sound and Music

4/12/2014

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Hi there Berkshire MakerKids Parents and Friends . . .

Here's a little update on what the Berkshire MakerKids have been doing this week . . . we're exploring the use of SOUND and MUSIC. We use sound and music to express ourselves and to communicate ideas. SOUND and MUSIC can be key elements in making. It's totally fun.

Check out the little video we made at the end of our Wednesday session! This is what our orchestra sounds like with no rehearsal ; ).

assignment on our white board

We have been working on 2 approaches to creating sound and music.

One is low-tech where we create really simple musical instruments by hand from objects that are all around us. We made pan flutes from paper straws; kazoos from ice cream sticks, paper and rubber bands; and basses from inflated balloons and and rubber bands. These creations are making the sounds you hear in the video.

The other is hi-tech and uses computers and Scratch programming. Here we are in the Libraby Computer Lab working on Scratch with Sound and Music. It's amazing how adding sound and music to images brings them to life.

Back in our MakerSpace, we made straw pan flutes, kazoos and balloon basses. It was totally FUN!

We like both ways–each has it's place in making so it's really good to understand and be able to make sound and music on the computer and by hand.

That's all for now. Come back and visit us again!

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December 22nd, 2013

12/22/2013

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Hi Makers, this is our first blogpost.

This is the page where you'll find the most current info about the MakerKIds program. Even though it's still 2013 and the program hasn't begun, we're already at hard at work building out our Makerspace which is located in one of the garage bays in the Transportation Garage Building across the parking lot from the main school building. We're loading in, installing equipment, hand tools and workbenches, bringing in supplies and setting up to start making. Our first sessions will begin on Wednesday, January 22nd. There will be meetings at school the first week you're back from Christmas vacation where you can learn more about the program and see if it's something that you might like to. We hope so. (If you haven't already, you should look at the "Kids" section of the website for info about our plans, the schedule and so on.)

If you join the program, this blog will be our main way of keeping in touch with you when we're not together in our Makerspace. The blog will be used for announcements that you, your parents and caregivers can use to keep up with MakerKids activities. There will be news and information about special events – for example, if we're planning a field trip or we've invited a maker from our community to visit our shop, or, say, that a new piece of equipmant has arrived.

From time to time we will be posting about a specific subject–like working with Aurdinos. Arduinos, what the heck are Arduinos? To keep it simple for now, they're very cool electronic devices that can be used to sense all sorts of things, like temperature, humidity, your heart rate and lots more. They are something you will definitely learn about!

This is a good place for you to talk to us, ask questions and share ideas. So visit this page often and participate in the dialogue about making!

Thanks,
Paul and Tim

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Week 6 – Pattern Making Basics

Week 5 - The Feeders Are Done!

Weeks 3 and 4 - Feeder Designs Coming Together

Week 2. Good Progress, see the pictures!

Our 1st Week is History! Read About It! See Pictures!

MakerKids - Welcome Back! Fall 2014

Pasta Bridge Buildidng Project Awards

Here is a video from an upper school class at another school that shows what building this kind of project is like. Check it out!

And here are two of our winners from the MakerKids Bridge Project Competition.

Great work by the winners, and by everyone!

The Science of Propulsion

Sound and Music

December 22nd, 2013

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