Maker Faire came and went. It took months of planning—an entire year, for those of us who began thinking about it at the close of last year’s faire (which does not include me)—scheduling, rescheduling, last minute panics, and many headaches. But it came together really nicely in the end. How would you describe Maker Faire?…
Every day here has been packed with new issues arising from scheduling students, printing tickets, tweaking projects, ordering shirts, setting up booths, calling parents.
Project: Van de Graaf Generator Makers: Gilberto C., Arya B., Martin R. At least from my perspective, this is one of the bigger and more complex of our student projects being worked on this year for Maker Faire. A Van de Graaf generator is a machine that builds up an electric charge inside of a metal…
Maker Faire prep is coming along. While the Creativity Lab staff is hard at work getting t-shirts ordered and schedules planned (and more—trust me, there’s quite a bit of work involved), students are working to get their projects wrapped up. I’m dedicating the next few weeks to previewing some of the projects that students will be showing…
Prototype Faire is our own miniature test-run of the Maker Faire. Students from each grade level showed off their own making projects that they’ve been working on, many of which they will take to the Maker Faire next month.
Scribble machines are quick projects that combine arts and crafts with the basics of circuitry. They’re incredibly open-ended, making them a great exercise in creative design and persistence. The idea is to build a robot that draws as it moves, and we typically don’t give students any further instruction after this prompt. This usually creates some frustration, but also…
“What happens when you click ‘forward?’” we asked, referring to an icon on the students’ computer screens. Several kids—mostly those who had seen “Turtle Art” before—raised their hands and said it “makes the turtle go up.” This was the introduction to a programming unit our 5th graders will be working on for several weeks. In “Turtle Art,”…
Our kindergarteners made some awesome sock puppets last week. They measured and cut their own materials, and safely handled hot glue guns by themselves. What do you think of the “Creepy Carrot” puppet? We love it!
Lighthouse hosted its Expo Wednesday night, to showcase to parents what our students have been hard at work on this year. Check out some of the awesome projects the Creativity Lab had on display:
For one of their first projects of the trimester, our seventh and eighth grade makers have been journaling—not writing in journals (though, they’ll be doing that, too), but making journals of their own. The making began by unmaking. Like biologists with their frogs, students dissected books to explore their inner workings. (We have some potential…