A classroom visit
I recently had the privilege of completing a residency at a kindergarten class at the Environmental Charter School. The class was exploring simple machines, such as pulleys, gears, inclined planes, wheels and axles, etc. I was asked to help plan and co-teach with their teacher, Jen. I always enjoy visiting schools. Typically, classes come to the Museum to explore and…
Simple machines in MAKESHOP
I recently had the opportunity to work with a kindergarten class from the Environmental Charter School. We had a partnership with them that created a residency for two of our teaching artists to visit the school to plan and co-teach lessons. Nick and I were asked to help with the first grade and a kindergarten classroom. Nick helped the first…
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…
Bicycle Heaven Field Trip
I own a bicycle. I used to commute to school via bike and I own a Pittsburgh trail map. I can reconnect a brake cable and theoretically know how to adjust my spoke tension. I’m not a total luddite, but to me bicycles are a necessity only if there’s no buses and it will take too long to walk. So when a friend…
On the Edge of Your Seat
At the end of last month, Children’s Museum Board Members gathered at the Museum for a Board retreat. How do you get to know your fellow Board Chairs? By dividing into teams and having a “chair” contest of course! A MAKESHOP Challenge was presented to the group: Divide into teams of six and create a meaningful chair using a container…
Adults in MAKESHOP!
We held our very first MAKEnight a couple of days ago. We essentially let a bunch of adults play and explore in MAKESHOP after the Museum closed. The theme of our first night was electricity. We had our 3D Printer on display creating some models. We also had our circuit blocks out, the EggBot, conductive play-dough and copper tape tinkering….
Monsters in MAKESHOP
Adam King is a really cool maker with a really cool hobby. He experiments with special effects and creates amazing monster masks and puppets. It was so much fun to see MAKESHOP full of creepy monsters a couple of Saturdays ago. We weren’t sure if kids would get scared about it, but Adam is so inviting that almost everyone was…
Monster Mash
A guest maker, Adam King, who makes theatrical monster masks, visited MAKESHOP in October to sculpt one of his awesome creatures! Amazing to think that it started as a lump of clay. Here it is finished! And here are some of his friends.
Duquesne Incline Machine Room Field Trip
Possibly the best fifty cents you’ll ever spend is a look inside the Duquesne Incline’s machine room. At 135 years old, it is the oldest cable car operation in the United States, predating San Francisco’s trolley system. The Incline now runs on electricity instead of steam, but much of the machinery is unchanged from the original 1877 design. In 1962 the Incline…
Making Connections
Taking something that was going to be thrown away and giving it a new purpose is always rewarding. The “Book-Shelf” pictured above is a great example of a project that uses entirely re-purposed junk. Actually, “junk” seems like a negative term… Let’s call it “repurposed treasure.” My friend, Becky, wanted to make gift cards for her salon (Tula Organic) in the…