As part of my mHUB residency, I plan to highlight some of the members and the cool work they're doing. I also expect to interview Chicago Makers and local women in STEM. First up is Joseph Greer, founder of MakeXchange, which recently launched an electronics invention set for beginners. I met Joe last summer when he first joined the mHUB community. It's been exciting to see his idea come to fruition in the last nine months. You can meet Joe ... [ Read More ]
STEM Fun Alert: OSMOCES is this Weekend
The Arduino-like device I built (mostly) by myself.I gave you a heads up about OSMOCES a few weeks ago. Presented by Fox Valley ASME*, The Open Source Mechanatronics Outreach and Creative Exchange Symposium is taking place this weekend and it looks like a geeky good time.When I first posted, the details were sketchy, but the blanks have been filled in and there's something for everyone, everyone being middle schoolers on up.OSMOCES will take ... [ Read More ]
OSMOCES for Makers, Engineers and High School Students in Chicago’s Western Burbs
I caught wind of this delightfully geeky event at the Evanston Mini-Maker Faire. OSMOCES stands for (deep breath) Open Source Mechatronics Outreach & Creative Exchange Symposium. Kind of like a hackerspace meet up (I think). The event will take place in Wheaton at the IIT Rice Campus on October 13, 2012. There will be workshops and demonstrations. You'll see Arduino and 3D printer, try your hand at soldering, high school teams can receive ... [ Read More ]
Mama’s First Arduino: STEM Girl Friday
Today's STEM Girl Friday features, well, me! I built my first Arduino last night. Technically it's an Arduino compatible "Boarduino" constructed from a kit by AdaFruit*. I signed up for the Arduino for Newbies class thinking we'd solder a couple of things and then program our Arduino units to do cool things, a relatively simply process, but not one I've pushed myself to learn independently.Instead of a complete Arduino microcontroller, this is ... [ Read More ]
Finding My Arduino Mojo
After years of wondering just what this Arduino thing is, and just months after buying one, I'm getting serious. Tonight I'm headed to Chicago's Pumping Station: One hackerspace to get on my Arduino groove.Between a bit of reading I've done and watching my son start to play with the unit I own, I hope to follow along without becoming a pesky old lady who asks too many questions.Then again, the session is called "Arduino for total newbies." It's ... [ Read More ]
Welcome to The Maker Mom!
Welcome to The Maker Mom, my new blog about science, tech, STEM, gifted kids, Arduino, and of course, fun projects for makers of all sorts.Take a peek around as I've been adding content in recent weeks. I've also (finally!) posted an archive of my posts about parenting and educating gifted children. Thanks to my friend, Mari, I've got them linked with titles and descriptions. Some of you might be thinking, "What?! Kim has another blog?" Frankly, ... [ Read More ]