3DPrintingWorkshop

NORT2H / ESC of Lorain County is offering a 3D printing workshop, partnering with MakerGear and SOI. It is free for NORT2H members, and costs $125 for non-members. It will be December 11, from 8:30-2:30.
Here is a flyer for more information.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vsQcZAvasPk3kpO0Zo30Lq1eUkNfeZZ3zF0YdTLUF4Q/edit

OctoberVisits

I got to visit two local schools this week.

First, I went to Bolich MS to see Alex Oris ( @mrORIStech ) and his robotics club. They meet after school once a month. (he would love to meet more, but he has other buildings to work with and a family). This time they were working with Sphero (SPRK+ & mini) or Edison. They have enough of these three so that everyone could have their own to work with. Their challenge was to create code to have the “robot” trace various polygons, starting with a square. There were about three dozen excited and enthusiastic kids scattered around the library and hallway. If a student didn’t have their own device (tablet, phone, chromebook), Mr. Oris has some devices that he got from a GAR Foundation grant for VR/AR. Besides watching them work, I brought Marty the Robot, from Robotical, a company in Scotland.  Marty v1 is a humanoid robot that you can make walk, slide, dance… and is pretty nice, but I am hoping for better things in their v2 kickstarter .  I want to be able to make different things out of my robotics, like cars and elevators and … They seem to be working towards a bit of expandability and customizability. Check them out.

Later in the week I went to visit David Hall (email) the Tech & Maker Teacher at
Immaculate Heart of Mary (k-8). I graduated from IHM in 1979 and had not been back in a
long time. His room is one of my former 8th grade home rooms (they have shifted rooms
around as needed, even the library isn’t where it used to be).  He sees all kids at some time and
there is a great mix of “tool time” and projects. We forget that many kids have never held a tool,
let alone used one. Sometimes classes are just “pounding nails” or “drill a hole” or
“put in a screw”. Yes, they use hammers and screwdrivers,  cordless and corded drills,
palm sanders, pop riveter, chop saw, band saw, and other hand tools. He has a “flight” elective
course and they make all variety of flying things from wood and cardboard and foam. There
were the beginnings of boomerangs on a shelf. His room has some excellent examples of flying
things hanging from the ceiling. IHM participates in The American Rocketry Challenge and this
year has two teams (they have had up to 5 in the past). They 3D design & print some parts,
2D design and laser cut others.
The school has recently purchased Dash and Dot and some Cubelets, so he is anxious to get
those going with teachers. 

#MakerEdConvening

#MakerEdConvening 

This past weekend I headed over to Pittsburgh, PA to attend #MakerEdConvening . I am glad that @MakerEdOrg brought the conference to the East Coast (#1-4 have been in California).  Pittsburgh has been doing a great deal in the #MakerEd realm, so it was a good place to have it. Nova Place and the Children’s Museum next door was a nice location and had wonderful facilities, with great food for breakfast and lunch. There are three hotels two blocks away, so it was convenient. That area of Pittsburgh also has PNC Park and at least a dozen restaurants within walking distance. Heinz Field and the Carnegie Science Center are also a short walk nearby. I like going to California, but my bank account likes driving to PA better. I hope they keep coming back to the East, maybe an every other year arrangement.

Mostly I go to conferences to meet people. I go to see my Twitter PLN face to face, and to find some new connections. I also pick up on one or two things that I have not paid attention to yet. We had an hour for breakfast and lunch to do some networking. There was a Happy Hour (two actually) at the Museum Lab. Even with those, I wish that there was more designated time to meet and talk with people. The 15 minutes between sessions is not enough to do this. But if we add a 30-60 minute “networking” block, that pushes us later into the evening. The other option would be to replace a session slot with a networking slot. Hmmm.

Speaking with Lauren from MakerEd made me want to look up their Making Spaces initiative (i did, but i don’t fit into it yet). I played with the next version of the Finch that is coming out in Spring 2020. The sessions show that are some people being successful with MakerEd and some starting. Wake County Public Schools has the 4 C’s in their Mission Statement, so that made admin more responsive to Maker initiatives. (we can talk later about having all 6 C’s). We have to keep thinking in terms of equity and access, as well as keep looking at out inherent bias towards ideas/people/things. We also need to keep creating culture. #MakerEd is more than the sum of the tools. 

The MakerEd team did a great job. I enjoyed the weekend and hope to get to another Convening in the future. Hopefully Maker Education will grow so that we can have more of these meetups.

Here are some pics i took : 

coroplast

Coroplast (corrugated plastic) is a material that you should investigate for your #MakerSpace. Yes, you can buy it in various sizes and colors at Home Depot/Lowes/Menards or Amazon (pay close attention to sizes). But it is a product that you can get for free, if you ask the right people. This is what most election yard signs are made of, so find your politicians and issue leaders and ask them to donate after the election. 

You will need a couple of tools to work with it. The first is a coro-claw {$20} (there are different size ones because there are different dimensions for the flutes in coroplast. This tool is used to cut following the flutes (rip cut). Depending on how you place it in the flute, it can cut through one (for a bend) or both sides of the coroplast.

The second is a clever cutter {10 pack ~$16}. This can be used to rip one side in the flute channel. It is not as neat a line as the coro claw, so usually just used for some final cut throughs. The third is your trusty exacto or utility knife (A or B ) for cross cutting. You will also want a solid, straight edge for your cross cuts (piece of wood, metal ruler, level…)

Pretty much anything you can make with cardboard you can make with this. It is not quite as bendable as cardboard, but it can get wet, unlike cardboard. I have seen walls for model structures, pieces for bridges (instead of toothpicks or popsicle sticks), mini car chassis, even wheels. 

ElectricityExploration

(cross posted at http://www.paulshircliff.org/the-journey/electricityexploration )

Here is something I think that every #MakerSpace #STEM #STEAM lab should have, any and all ages. Some electricity exploration. I am a little biased being an Engineer that worked in the electricity generation industry, but it is a major part of our lives and most people don’t understand it. I have always liked colored lights (and music... remember putting blinking christmas lights in a box behind some frosted plastic??)

I am doing a STEAM day with my colleagues from Construct Learning, and my part is Electrical Engineering / Electricity. So I finally got a little electricity kit, $12 : 6 motors, motor holders  switches, fan blades, propellers, battery holders, assorted gears, 4 wheels. It is an inexpensive way for students to play with electricity. You have to add AA batteries {20 for $9}, and I would add some CR 2032 watch batteries (or other model){20 for $9},  maybe even some AAA and C or D batteries, but probably not the 9V batteries. 

To make connections easier, you might want to include some alligator wires [30 for $9] I would also add some LED’s. [500 for $10]. 

Let’s add it all up : 

Kit $12

AA batts $9

CR2032 $9 (the more the merrier) 

Alligator wires $9

LED’s $10

                             ~ $50  (if you group up and 1 motor each ~$8 per group)

There is one more thing that I would include : a genecon for $13. It allows discussions on “what is electricity” and do we “make” electricity or do we “generate” it, totally different concepts. They do need to be careful with these, to not turn them so fast or so hard that the plastic gears inside wear out. For an exploration station, I would get at least 2 of these. So now we are talking $75 for some open investigations with electricity.