Allen’s Car
Here is a great example of how a visitor can really come prepared to MAKESHOP. Allen visits the Museum a lot and although there are lots of things to play with at the Museum he sometimes brings his own toys as well. During this particular visit his toys completely inspired him to create something in MAKSHOP. He wanted to make…
A Practical Laser Cutter Project
I had the opportunity to use our laser cutter to create something practical for a change. We usually use our laser cutter to experiment with visitors and demonstrate the use of a laser to cut or etch different materials. I was asked to create this project for Tula Organic Salon and Spa. They wanted to laser cut a stencil so…
Mobile MAKESHOP: Building Circuit Blocks
When I visited the Children’s Museum of the Ohio Valley for my first site visit there was a day camp at the Museum full of kids from the same school. The kids were used to doing crafts and using materials like glue and tape. I decided to build a bunch of circuit blocks with these kids. I got out most of…
The Importance of Prompts
MAKESHOP is not just for kids, adults are allowed to have fun too. Every year the Museum hosts an event for the Katz School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. There has always been some kind of building challenge during this event. This year we prompted the groups to build bridges out of recycled materials. The bridges did not…
Maker BBQ
I get to do a lot of fun things for the Museum. I recently got the chance to attend a Maker BBQ hosted by Hive Pittsburgh which is part of the Kids + Creativity Network. I spent a night at Pittsburgh’s Tech Shop hanging out with a bunch of teenagers. Everyone involved was teaching or demonstrating something digital: 3D modeling, programming etc. I…
Field Trip: Braddock Library
The Braddock Library is an amazing place. The building is beautiful, the staff is extremely friendly and the patrons are awesome. I was lucky enough to visit the library twice this summer and teach two workshops: one woodworking and one electronics. The woodworking workshop had about twenty kids participate and all of them created something original. One girl simply spent…
Maker Faire 2013
The third Pittsburgh Mini-Maker Faire was held in September here at the Museum, presented with HackPGH. As always, it was a lot of fun. I spent most of my time in MAKESHOP drawing with robots and teaching people how to solder. But I did get a chance to see all of the fun inventions and ideas that the makers were…
Open Source PinBall
Christian built a pinball machine… Well, he built a box with a ramp out of pegboard. The rest of our staff really helped turn it into a full-fledged pinball machine. We encouraged visitors to add their own obstacles, ramps, scoring systems, etc. This open-source pinball machine is my favorite new toy in MAKESHOP (sorry laser cutter). The additions to it are…
Meet a Maker!
At the beginning of June, MAKESHOP™ welcomed four Maker Corps Members. This summer, you can find them working at Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and bringing MAKESHOP™ experiences on the road. Through theMaker Education Initiative, they will engage children and families in creative projects, while gaining experience serving as leaders in the community. Meet Lauren, who will be entering her last year…
Pirates, Catapults, and Pedal Carts!
Two visitors help assemble our pirate pedal-cart catapult We’re working on an exciting new project at MAKESHOP: A Catapult! Normally we don’t make war machines, but this one has been repurposed for FUN. Our design is based on the trebuchet, a sling-based counterweight-powered type of catapult originally invented in the 11th century. We’re building this crazy thing to throw the first…