When he was in elementary school, The Young Maker Teen, was a big fan of Hexbug Nano, those tiny robotic bugs that are essentially gussied up bristlebots. I recall looking at him one day surrounded by various “habitats” spread out in our basement with lots of the critters buzzing around thinking, “Wow, he’s spent a … Read more
Here’s are a few key tips along with helpful resources for anyone who wants to learn more about PBL STEM education. Before I present the recap, I want to share an important post that IAT recently published on their blog. IAT co-founder, Laurie Kreindler cautioned parents and educators to be wary of educational publishers who … Read more
It sounds like the set-up for a joke: two moms walked into a bar. Only it wasn’t a bar it was their kids’ school. And they weren’t just moms, they were scientists, too. In the name of viral blog posts, you won’t believe what happened next. Okay. You’ll believe it. Here’s the scoop on the … Read more
Making a book safe is one of those projects that I’ve long had on my to-do list, but put off. How fun would it be to secret away something special and hide it in plain site in a book? In the end, it was simple and somewhat meditative. I can’t wait to make another one.
When my husband said, “I want to get you a $200 worm bin composter for your birthday.” The problem wasn’t the worm bin. I’ve been curious about vermicomposting since one of my boys’ teachers set up a class worm composting system back in the day. But to spend $200 on a classy set-up for worms? No thank you.
He threatened to buy it for me unless I made one myself. It was like a dare. I had been mentioning this project on and off for years. It was time to get making and to do it on a budget. With the help of Instructables and Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, I did!
Our attempt to make hollow pennies didn’t turn out as planned. This is another way of saying the hollow penny experiment failed, but since I documented our process, I figured I’d share it, and maybe you’ll try it, and you can share better photos if things go according to plan. I first read about making … Read more
When it comes to blogging, life often follows art (if you consider my carefully crafted blog posts works of art, that is). What I mean is that blogging helps me live with intention. If I blog about healthy eating, I’m more careful about what I put in my mouth. If I start a blog about … Read more