Ever wonder what your mentors do when we don’t see you at Willow Run? Stephen took his Mac apart!
Author: Fei Ren (Page 3 of 6)
We had a busy week. We said goodbye to Squishy Circuits (but take a look at what happened when someone found a motor in the SC bag), added hand-sewing upcycled scarves, and kept going with origami and Snap Circuits. We also recorded our maker theme song so Theo can use it as he prepares a project on how to make our own speakers.
We weren’t quite as good at things like cleaning up (wow! What a mess the Snap Circuits were!) or listening respectfully during our closing meeting, both of which are important maker skills, so we’ll keep working on those!
Kristin
We have had three weeks’ worth of Squishy Circuits on our menu. Before we take retire it from active service, enjoy this video of a master sculptor at work. He’s creating a portrait of Squishy Circuits co-founder AnnMarie Thomas. Enjoy!
– Kristin
Wow – we have been really busy for our first two weeks of Michigan Makers at Mitchell! We have 25 students and a U-M team of four people, plus Mrs. T, Noah, and Mrs. C!
The first two weeks, we picked from these four activities:
- Snap Circuits
- Squishy Circuits
- Friendship Bracelets
- Origami
So we have been thinking about electrical circuits as well as many kinds of engineering: thread engineering, paper engineering, and clay engineering!
Check out the Mitchell sets on our Flickr page (and check out what the makers at the other Michigan Makers site are working on!).
We sometimes hear our makers say that something is “stupid,” but we’re learning that this really means, “I really want to figure this out, but I’m stuck and need help.”
We voted last week that we definitely wanted to keep working on Snap Circuits and origami. It was a toss-up whether we should keep friendship bracelets or Squishy Circuits going … so the mentors are deciding plus picking a new activity for November 4. What’s next? It’s a surprise …
– Kristin
We had a wonderful time with Mrs. Goldberg and the Michigan Makers at East this year. For the 2013 – 2014 school year, we are no longer at East but working with kids at Mitchell and at YCS Middle School.
For questions about the Michigan Makers projects, email faculty advisor Kristin Fontichiaro at font [at] umich [dot] edu.
Thanks for a great year!
Kristin
Last week, so many kids were sick! It was really fun to see everybody back this week, including a bunch of new faces!
There are lots of photos in our Flickr feed. You can find ones for YCS in the sets that start with “MM@YCS” and take a look at the “MM@Mitchell” ones to see our other Michigan Makers site and get ideas.
By the way … is your face hidden in a photo? That means we need your permission slip! Ask Mr. R.J. for a copy.
Activity menu:
– SunPrints (yes! There is just enough sunlight possible!) Kudos to Stephen and Jimmy for figuring out how to turn a sewing machine case into a developing tub!
– Origami – Last day! We had lots of takers working with Amelia.
– Snap Circuits – check out Alyssa and Alana having a great time in the photos.
– Crochet – Last day! Mollie was hard at work on her big afghan project.
– Scratch Programming – We are learning that there are big Doctor Who fans in MM. Will they make a Who-like animation?
Hmmm … what were Jessica and Ellen working on? Look below for a hint of what might be coming soon …
– Kristin
Today was our last day for Squishy Circuits. Congratulations to K for achieving the Squishy Circuits challenge (see above)!
We’re now retiring Squishy Circuits for a while, but if you miss it, take a look at the cool video below, where a clay sculptor makes a Squishy Circuits portrait of SC co-creator AnneMarie Thomas!
Menu items today:
– Crochet
– Scratch
– Snap Circuits
– Squishy Circuits (last day!)
– Origami (can we make an animated origami bird??)
We had many students absent today. We hope you feel better soon!
– Kristin
We’ll get back to you about this week’s activities!
With a little refresher of the menu we continued our work from last week. This time game designers got to pull out some cool supplies from the Scrap Box to start building their prototypes. Snap Circuits was taken up a notch this week with orange juice and an antique lamp to experiment with. More people joined in for their last chance on Squishy Circuits … which we ultimately extended into a third session so we could complete the Pig Challenge.
– Amelia and Kristin
Our first day at Willow Run was definitely a fun one! We started out Michigan Makers with an icebreaker so we could all get to know everyone’s name. We formed a giant circle and tossed around a cute crotched animal while calling out the person’s name you we’re about to throw it to.
Our agenda for the first week was introducing Snap Circuits, Squishy Circuits, crochet, and game design. Everyone was excited to try out the new activities, and crocheting drew quite a large crowd. At the end of our session many of the crocheters had completed or were well on their way to completing an awesome zipper pull. Our game designers brainstormed so they could begin building their prototypes next session, and the Snap & Squishy Circuits groups got through a lot of cool projects. At the end of our first session we wrote in our journals about what we like to make, what we don’t like to make, and most importantly what we want to know how to make. Everyone was looking forward to what they were going to create next week!