Maker Education is such a valuable role. These stories will bring you the latest information and tales of maker educators who area spreading the maker mindset. Help others learn how to make things or how to think like a maker at makerspaces, schools, universities, and local communities. The importance of maker education can not be understated. We appreciate our educators.
Joseph Karb, a teacher at Springville Middle School, wrote to me about an aquaponics enrichment project he is working on with his students. For the past two months, middle school students have been managing an Aquaponics Fish Farm with over 400 tilapia. Aquaponics is a system where fish and plants work together in a mutually […]
The original idea came from the work of several of my students in the Fashioning Tech class. Sam and Brooke were cutting images that they found online, and saw that the heavy black lines made image contours, which cut as a continuous line. What they saw as a horrible mistake, I thought looked really neat, and suggested they carefully glue the image outline to a backing sheet. They were hand cutting the background sheet, but it looks much more polished if they use the laser to cut the outline shape on the laser
These giant parabolic slides, or Parabelrutsche are located in the Mathematik/Informatik building of the Technical University of Munich, Garching campus. The preferred method for riding them appears to be on boring carpet squares, however a quick search shows that more daring methods have also been tried. [thanks, Grace!]
We just received a new shipment of Netduino micro-controllers in the Maker Shed. What’s a Netduino? Glad you asked! Netduino is an open source electronics platform using the .NET Micro Framework. The board features a 32-bit microcontroller and a rich development environment, making it a perfect solution for engineers and hobbyists alike. If you are […]
Last week, my Juniors and Seniors are creating cellphone stands with laser cut parts. It started with a discussion about how to get a cellphone in good viewing position, and how the sound is often traveling away from the viewer. You may have noticed that when you cup your hand behind a phone in speaker mode, the sound bounces off your palm towards your ears. For many, this was a first project with the laser cutter. Others have been working with it for several weeks on the Locker Organizer project, so were able to start at a higher level.
In Jeri Ellsworth latest nerd lab vid notes, she explains how to make an IR detection device by “quenching” copper-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS:CU) glow powder and how to measure temperature with thermally-quenched phosphors. Practical uses of Quenching in Phosphors
That phrase could be Bill Hammack’s tagline. This week, it’s the piezoelectric crystal oscillator in a $9.99 digital watch from Target, a device so ubiquitous that it has become “ephemeralized,” as Bucky Fuller put it: Almost any device that runs on electricity is expected to include one. I knew how they worked, in a general way, before watching this video. But here’s one of the many things I did not know: The quartz crystal in the oscillator is only 3mm long and less than 1mm across, yet each one is individually tuned at the factory. Wanna know how they do it? Click away. [Thanks, Bill!]
