Kai’s Invention
Kai is a regular visitor of the Museum. He is the kind of visitor who really enjoys tinkering with anything and everything. On this particular day, we were experimenting with making light-up cards using copper tape and LEDs. Kai was very interested in exploring what could be done with the copper tape and a piece of paper. He already had…
Inside the Sewing Machine
Over the winter holidays, we did a lot of take-apart here at the museum. Tons of old audio equipment, toys, printers… and a sewing machine! I had a great team of four kids helping me get that stubborn front off. It really didn’t want to go! We recently replaced this machine with a newer one, and thought we’d keep the old…
Glowing Bots!
Every month we have a theme that helps us to decide on new activities for MAKESHOP. We spent the month of December making projects and exploring materials that GLOW. We had glow-in-the-dark fabric, UV LEDs, lots of holiday lights, light painting, and some glow-in-the-dark paint. I had the brilliant idea to combine some of the GLOW activities with a ShopBot…
Aircraft Carrier
Joseph was a really fun kid to meet. He was one of those visitors who seemed to fit right in at MAKESHOP. He didn’t know exactly what he wanted to create, but he came to a decision after he spent some time tinkering and exploring the materials. He first tinkered around with lighting up small LEDs with batteries. He eventually…
Giving back
Here at MAKESHOP, we know it’s the season to give back to our community. If you are a regular reader of our blog, then you know that we have a floor loom, a machine that weaves fabric. Last year, a lovely couple donated their loom to MAKESHOP. We dusted it off, and with some light care, have been able to…
MAKEnight, December 6
MAKEnight is an event held after hours at the Museum where adults can visit the museum to make things and meet new people while enjoying some food by Bar Marco and drinks from Wigle Whiskey. We held our second MAKEnight on December 6, 2012 with a sold out crowd! If you missed it, then mark your calendars for the next one on February 7!…
FORTS
The weekend after Thanksgiving can be really, really busy at the Museum, so we decided to try something a little different with our visitors in MAKESHOP. The entire exhibit was cleared to make space for several forts. We split the exhibit space into four separate, specifically themed fort building areas. We also provided a walk way for visitors and…
Family Fun
Ty and his sister spent a lot of time exploring animation. Actually, their entire family spent a lot of time exploring all of MAKESHOP. Their older brother was fascinated with the loom and spent most of his time weaving. Their siblings also had a blast exploring light painting. We experimented a lot with different light sources and different movement techniques….
Looming Danger
Sure, we’ve made some beautiful things here, but not every weaving experiment goes well. Sometimes… well, sometimes this happens. If our strings aren’t strong enough, they’re liable to break, shred or be otherwise completely messed up. Here are some other problems, surprises, and discoveries: DENSITY Sometimes you can really tell who was doing the weaving! Every visitor who works on…
Monster Pet Workshop
Shortly before Halloween, Amy and I ran a “Monster Pet” workshop. We had two hours and the entire workshop to help visitors through the process of brainstorming, designing, planning, and construction using both hand and machine sewing techniques. We began by brainstorming what makes a monster a monster. What kind of words would you use to describe your monster? Where does your monster…