Call for Makers
The Call for Makers for Pittsburgh Mini Maker Faire is now open! They’re hunting the region’s most brilliant makers of all ages. Click here to learn more and apply!
Droids and Grandmas
I have had whole families work on projects in the MAKESHOP. This was the first instance where I witnessed three generations create three separate projects at once. We were celebrating “May the Fourth Be With You” day in the MakeShop. Being the National STAR WARS day, we decided to let visitors make “ShopDroids.” A very eager family came in and…
Three Days in the MAKESHOP
What can you do with a ton of newspaper? We weren’t entirely sure. Someone suggested we do “rolled newspaper projects.” That quickly blossomed into a ” giant newspaper sculpture!” So over the span of a week, we let visitors add to our collaborative sculpture. This was a really fun activity to do. What was even more fun was filming the…
MakeShop Bloopers
We have been weaving on hula hoops and other circular looms for the past month. We decided to create a giant circular loom by bending yardsticks and taping them together. We thought it would be a great way to make a giant, circular rug. Unfortunately, the material that we used bunched up and created something that we never intended…. Check…
Prototyping with Visitors
Here’s some footage of our first attempt to make kaleidoscopes with visitors. Anyone can look up a project online and assume that people will enjoy it. I’m the kind of person who needs to get the opinions of visitors before I believe that an activity is worth doing. Plus, I really enjoy having the opportunity to teach something new. In…
Our field trip to Assemble
We had such a great time that we are sharing more photos from our field trip to Assemble. Check them out by visiting their website or stay tuned for our next collaboration with them!
ACM InterActivity 2013
Every year, there is a conference for the Association of Children’s Museums. The location of these conferences is different each year and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh has the privilege to host the 2013 conference! We promoted our conference at the 2012 conference by creating a short promotional video. One of our Teaching Artists, Christina Zaris, is a talented stop-motion…
Announcing: The MakeShop Show!
Hey kid-makers, there’s a new website just to show YOU how to make cool projects! Use your creativity and things you have at home to make cool stuff like pillowcase pajamas and real furniture out of rolled newspaper. The MakeShop Show is a new online maker hub for kids ages 6-10 packed with project videos, resources, downloads and bright ideas to create…
Making Messes
It seems that no matter who I work with, whether it’s with a fellow educator or a little kid, my work spaces end up looking like the above two pictures. Sometimes having a mess can help you be a little more creative. -Kevin
Rideables Competition is now open!
Micro Grants of up to $5,000 are available to support programs that engage Youth Makers, children aged 7 to 17, in the hands-on design and production of objects that respond to two themes: Wearables and Rideables. The Wearables competition ended last week, but there is still a chance to apply for the Rideables competition! The Rideables grant submissions will be…