Design and prototype
Sometimes, we can find some really cool stuff in the Museum’s basement. Our basement serves as one of the exhibit workshops, so many of the materials were at one point used for prototyping or repairing exhibits. For example, this acrylic dome. It was originally used as a prototype for our newly renovated Waterplay exhibit. Now, it is being used to…
Meet a Maker!
For a limited time only, you can visit the MAKESHOP and work with Lea on Sunday – Thursday. Lea will be working with us until the end of August when she will continue her creative pursuits at the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University. Name/ Nickname: Lea Favorite color: Teal How long have you been working at…
Another Gear Idea
Derek, a new employee at the Museum and a local teacher in Pittsburgh, presented a great idea to me a couple of days ago. He wants to make a mechanical version of our circuit blocks. He thinks that it is important to utilize various types of gears to create blocks that visitors can connect together to further explore mechanization. To…
Harrison, the teacher
Harrison is a regular visitor to the Museum and has been mentioned before in this blog here. A couple of days ago, he visited MAKESHOP with an agenda. He needed help soldering some components. I can certainly help someone solder something, but Harrison really helped me understand what it means to turn your imagination into reality. Harrison planned on creating…
Meet a Maker!
If you’ve visited the MAKESHOP on a weekend, chances are you’ve met and created with Allison! Name/ Nickname: Alison, but some of my friends and family call me Ali or Al. Favorite color: Hot pink! (And green) How long have you been working at Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh? I started working in MAKESHOP in August 2012 but I’ve been helping…
Meet a Maker!
Meet our fearless leader and MAKESHOP Manager, Adam! Name: Adam Favorite color: Yellow How long have you been working at Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh? August 2010 When did you know you were a maker? As a child, I would help my grandparents to cook, sew, paint, fix things up, and do little odd jobs around the house. I got a sewing…
Playtesting
A couple of Saturdays ago Gary and Sarah Gardiner of Dream Flight Adventures spent some time in MAKESHOP prototyping a new interactive, educational program. Gary has been developing this interactive software for quite some time and recently he was asked to implement it into a classroom in Shaler Area School District. The program is really fun to experience and I can…
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…
Puppet Prototype
Each month, our staff picks a programmatic theme for MAKESHOP that helps us to decide on what activities to provide. Our theme in MAKESHOP for the month of February is puppets. We decided to explore different ways to make puppets by reimagining recycled materials, sewing finger puppets and cloth puppets, building marionettes and playing with shadows puppets. As always, we will integrate digital…
Maker Education Initiative
Are you 18-22 years old and interested in maker culture? Do you know a young adult who loves to tinker and enjoys working with children? We’re excited to announce a great new opportunity for this summer! MAKESHOP at Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is partnering with the Maker Education Initiative, a program linked to MAKE Magazine, to launch the Maker Corps…