I wasn't able to attend the World Maker Faire in New York City, but at I did get to try one of the hot products that debuted there, Marbleocity. The folks at Tinkineer reached out the me to review their Mini Coaster (currently selling for $30 on Kickstarter). They had me at DIY marble roller coaster. My boys are teens now, but they when they were young, my little engineers loved making marble roller coasters and watching them in ... [ Read More ]
Meet Hardware Developer Alicia Gibb: It’s STEM Girl Friday!
Alicia Gibb is an advocate for open hardware, a researcher, an entrepreneur, and a hardware hacker. We connected online after I heard about the Kickstarter campaign for one of her inventions, Build Upons, light-up LEGO®-compatible bricks. I've heard a lot about how under-represented women are in computer science, but it seems there are even fewer women involved in the hardware end of things. How did you get involved? I got involved through ... [ Read More ]
The Maker Mom’s Kickstarter Picks
A Facebook friend recently started a conversation about charitable donations. She was wondering if, in addition to any major donations, her friends also set aside a chunk to dole out in bits of tens and twenties for friends doing charity projects, like cancer cure walks and such. I've wondered along a similar vein in terms of Kickstarter projects. Of course, Kickstarter projects are typically business projects. But I have an increasing number of ... [ Read More ]
The Women behind the Science and Entrepreneurship Exchange: It’s STEM Girl Friday
Nettelhorst students showing off their design work. I referenced the Science and Entrepreneurship Exchange (SEE) program at Chicago's Nettelhorst School program in the recent STEM girl post on local inventor and Kickstarter success story, Lily Born. The 8th graders in the SEE program have Kickstarter project of their own that is worthy of your support--what a great holiday gift to or from a friend with Chicago connections. As of this ... [ Read More ]
Interview with Lily Born, 11-Year-Old Kangaroo Cup Inventor: It’s STEM Girl Friday!
This week's STEM Girl is Lily Born, Kangaroo Cup inventor, product developer, spokesperson, Kickstarter pro and typical 11-year-old girl. A few years ago, Lily watched her grandfather, who has Parkinson's, struggle with his drinking cup and came up with idea for a sturdy 3-legged cup. Many designs, sketches, clay and plastic 3D models later, the Kangaroo Cup was born. Last fall, Kangaroo Cups made their way into people's homes thanks to ... [ Read More ]
Robot Turtles: A Board Game that Teaches Computer Programming
At the risk of sounding like an infomercial- act now, this offer is only good for a limited time! A few weeks ago one of my dynamic, entrepreneurial, techie blogger friends, Maya Bisineer introduced me to Dan Shapiro, mentioning that his Kickstarter project might be of interest to me (and you)--a board game called Robot Turtles that teaches programming basics to very young children ages 3-8.I loved the concept and was eager to spread the word. ... [ Read More ]