I’m delighted to be back with yet another activity on behalf of GOJO Industries, the makers of PURELL® Advanced Hand Sanitizer. And just in time for Halloween, we will be making slime, which is also sometimes called gak or flubber. Making this borax-free slime requires just two basic supplies that you may already have on hand. It’s easy to mix up and you’ll definitely want to smoosh and squish it to experience a full range of oozy tactile ... [ Read More ]
Teknikio’s E-Textile Kit
I'd been itching to dabble in e-textiles, or electronic textiles, when I was offered a review kit from Teknikio early this year. They've since rebranded ans switched things up a bit so this is sort of two reviews in one. Teknikio is a new small business helping kids (of all ages) expand their ability to design and engineer amazing things. I think kits are great for exploring new hobbies and the $15 Fabtronic Sewing Set is no ... [ Read More ]
Making Simple Robots with Kathy Ceceri
If you have kids under age 10 and you've asked me about making robots, chances are I've referenced Kathy Ceceri's book, Robotics. The book is full of basic, highly accessible projects, many of which are surprisingly low-tech, but help children (and their parents) understand robot basics. Now Kathy has taken things up a notch. She partnered with MAKE for a follow-up book, Making Simple Robots. I received a review copy of the book; please note that ... [ Read More ]
Circuit Stickers Review: Easy Electronics Basics for All!
I received the Circuit Stickers starter pack for review and liked it enough to include the recently released product in my top STEM gift picks for 2014. I'm a fan of teaching kids basic electronics. I've written raved about products like Snap Circuits and littleBits (affiliate links) that help kids, and adults, learn circuitry basics. Circuit Stickers are a fun, new addition to the electronics arsenal and they offer an intriguing STEAM (STEM + ... [ Read More ]
May 10 Making for Families at Destination: Chicago
Join in this Saturday, May 10 for a day of making and doing at Destination: Chicago. Part of the wonderful and engaging City of Learning program, Destination: Chicago is a fun day for youth to experience everything from hip hop yoga to origami. They can get back to nature making seed bombs or go high tech creating stop-motion films or an electronic glow flower.This free event for youth ages 4 - 24 will take place at Jones College Prep, 700 ... [ Read More ]
Reporting Live from the Future City Competition
I spent the morning watching teams set up their Future City models and prep for the competition. As I mentioned, I'm here in Washington, DC, with my client DiscoverE. They are one of the sponsors of the Future City middle school engineering competition. The Future City Engineering Competition Each team is associated with a teacher and an engineer mentor. I had the chance to talk with several and it's clear they are quite fond of this ... [ Read More ]
The White House is Hosting a Maker Faire!
Behold the power of a marshmallow shooter. After President Obama blasted a marshmallow across the White House dining room on young Joey Hudy's homemade extreme marshmallow blaster at the 2012 White House Science Fair he was hooked. Thirteen-year-old Joey's personal credo, "Don't be bored. Make something."* not only struck a chord with the dad of two and leader of the free world, it moved him to action. In 2014 the White House is going to host a ... [ Read More ]