Prototyping New Programs
The MAKESHOP staff likes to prototype our programming. Sometimes this step can be the most fun part of developing new activities for our visitors. Our theme for the month of September is “Books and Bags.” We set out at the end of August to figure the best ways for visitors to create these two things. Along with the best ways…
Music in the MAKESHOP
Our theme for the month of August is sound and music. We have been encouraging visitors to create musical instruments, but the staff has been having a blast creating some instruments of our own. A family came in a couple of days ago and wanted to try and make a pair of harps. I have never made a harp before,…
Welcome to MAKESBURGH
I came in to work a couple of days ago to find an entire half of MAKESHOP covered in amazing cardboard structures, such as cars, boats, buildings and bridges. We’ve tried to make a cardboard town in the past, but this one is easily the most extensive. Visitors seemed to be more invested in their projects if they know that…
Our Floor Loom
Our floor loom has been around since we opened MAKESHOP last fall. I’m not sure why it took so long for me to write about it in our blog, but maybe it just took the right visitor to inspire me. “It caught my eye,” is what I was told by one of our teenage visitors. He spent over an hour…
Modern Art
Who knew that a bunch of motors attached to some junk could create such beautiful art? Well, apparently it does… We really like to make things vibrate, shake and spin by attaching motors and simple circuits to recycled materials. We decided to go a step further by adding a marker to discover what patterns our shopbots make. The result was…
Making Use of a Record Player
We needed something that spins for our kaleidoscope workshops. I was planning on making something like a big spinning wheel, but by coincidence, an employee from another department dropped off an old record player. It was a great coincidence! I own a record player and I use it to play music. I never thought I’d be using a record player…
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!
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…