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Fidget Spinners with The Maker Mom

June 29, 2017 By Kim
Tagged With: Chicago, events

Make a Fidget Spinner with The Maker Mom

Are fidget spinners still a thing? They were when I held this event in late April! Back then, the only thing cooler than a fidget spinner was a DIY fidget spinner. By June, I think fidget spinners topped the list of reasons teachers couldn’t wait for school to end.

I’ll spare you my (totally legit) excuses for the delay and just offer up a few photos.

DIY Fidget Spinners with The Maker Mom

On April 29, I hosted a fantastically fun event at mHUB where kids used Chicago-based Inventable’s desktop CNC machines to create custom fidget spinners.

Make a Fidget Spinner with The Maker Mom

It was a small event that filled up within a day of me posting it on Facebook, so I never even got a chance to put out the word on this blog.

Attendees got creative with their designs.

Make DIY fidget spinners with the Carvey desktop CNC by Inventables

I was a bit ambitious in my booking and a bit naive about how much time it would take for each child to make their spinner, so even with two Carveys and a helper on hand, things got a bit backed up.

Make a Fidget Spinner with The Maker Mom

But I’m grateful that the kids and their families went with the flow (it was a free event, after all). I especially appreciated how many kids demonstrated maker mindsets; for example, showing curiosity and a willingness to experiment and iterate when the results didn’t meet expectations the first time around.

Oops.

Make DIY fidget spinners with the Carvey desktop CNC by Inventables

Kids created designs in Easel, Inventable’s user-friendly design program.

Make a Fidget Spinner with The Maker Mom

 

Make DIY fidget spinners with the Carvey desktop CNC by Inventables

And then the Carveys took it from there.

Make a Fidget Spinner with The Maker Mom

Watching the Carvey at work, especially when it’s carving out your design, is mesmerizing.

Make a Fidget Spinner with The Maker Mom

 

Make DIY fidget spinners with the Carvey desktop CNC by Inventables

Even a highly machined piece can benefit from a human touch before it’s ready to go out into the world.

Make a Fidget Spinner with The Maker Mom

It was a great event. Many thanks to mHUB and Inventables for helping me provide this experience to the next generation of Makers!

(Click the image below to play the video.)

A post shared by Kim Moldofsky (@kimmoldofsky) on Apr 29, 2017 at 11:05am PDT

 

STEMchat 3 gears

About Kim

Kim headshot Summer 2012 I’m a Chicago-area mom of teen boys who is passionate about sharing ideas and resources to raise kids who love Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). I’m a blogger, vlogger, baker and maker, as well as the founder of #STEMchat. I also write about parenting gifted kids, girls in STEM and the Maker Movement. [Read More...]
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