Kids & Family

Making Movies with Kids

Making Movies with Kids

Anyone who has kids will, at one time or another, point a video camera (or smartphone) at them and make a little home movie. But how about getting kids involved in making movies? Bianca Giaever doesn’t have kids, but the young filmmaker has created a great short film called “The Scared is Scared,” based on a story invented by a six-year-old boy named Asa. Bianca’s questions and Asa’s often flip-flopping, cute-as-can-be answers form the narration of the movie. Bianca takes Asa’s imaginative story and brings it to life as he tells it. It’s clever, funny, and poignant. She offers advice on how to go about making a movie with kids.

Continue Reading Stett Holbrook8
First Time at Maker Faire?

First Time at Maker Faire?

I’m writing a series of posts aimed at folks looking forward to their first experience at the upcoming Maker Faire Bay Area (May 18-19 in San Mateo, Calif.). I’d like to help out by answering your questions directly, documenting some of my own experiences as an exhibitor at Maker Faire, and interviewing folks at MAKE for advice on enjoying the fair.

Continue Reading Karen Tanenbaum8
Challenge the Kids, Challenge Yourself

Challenge the Kids, Challenge Yourself

I had twenty-four kids to walk through a detailed robot kit build. I thought we’d get through the physical build in one or two classes, and have two classes to play with the circuit and make the robot do different things. Boy, did I mis-judge things. By the end of the first class, we had barely managed to finish the first two steps of the build. I went home and collapsed for a bit. I was exhausted and not a little bit panicked.

Continue Reading Andrew Terranova20