DIY Circuit Blocks
This was an extremely ambitious project that resulted in a couple great teaching moments. A mom and daughter were so fascinated with our circuit blocks that they wanted to make their own. We decided to make a battery block, a motor block and speaker block. As with any electronic project, we first had to test all of our components. Mom…
Hana-Chaser
Two of my favorite visitors returned to the Museum a couple of days ago and created another amazing project. Their first tinkering, electronic project was dubbed the “Hanna-Occupier”. Their latest project was a motorized car made out of simple, recycled parts. They decided to name it the “Hana-Chaser”. I was excited to collaborate on this great project. Since these were…
The MAKESHOP is for everyone…
We are a “kids” museum, so little kids come here every day and play. Adults are allowed…no…encouraged have fun too. Case in point: A dad from California visited the MAKESHOP and had the time of his life. This particular visitor came into our Museum not expecting to have nearly as much fun as he did. He wanted to try to…
Exploring and Inventing
Who are inventors? Anyone can be an inventor… Most people probably picture an inventor as someone in a laboratory working with a bunch of complex machines. When I think of inventors, I picture anyone willing to try out something new. Kids are great at inventing things. Case in point: Usman and his “Spinny Thing”. Usman spent a lot of time…
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…
Partying at Assemble
The great thing about Pittsburgh is the size of the city and the enthusiasm of its people. Pittsburgh is the right size to allow for collaboration between many individuals and organizations. This is especially true in regard to the people who are offering art and technology opportunities to children, youth and families. Although we work with many different individuals and…