Michigan Maker’s triumphant return to Scarlett included a tried and true activity of Toy Takeapart.

We had a great turnout and spent some initial time getting to know each other and hearing what everyone liked to make.

Ben challenged the students to take apart an old toy from Goodwill and make something related to transportation. A lot of grit was needed to get all those screws out of the plastic toys — but, boy, did we find some interesting stuff underneath! Some students stuck to adding things to within existing toys, but others were able to create some transportation-related, completely new tools.

One student takes out a controller for an old electronic toy and turns it into a kind of steering wheel!

Two students collaborate on disassembling an alphabet toy.

Good work, makers! Check out more pictures at this Flickr album.

-Ben