Monthly Archives: May 2012

Making A Makerspace: Top 10 Tools in a Maker’s Classroom (2012)

This year was a big year in the STEaMworks (STEM focus, art driven, work/project centered: the STEaMworks), my self-styled Maker classroom.  We (and the Math/Sci Team) built a lot of projects: rockets, rocket cars, derby cars, catapults, simple robots, box-making, bench-making, bridge-building, sail-testing, music making, spirographs, pendulums, 3D prototyping, CAD models, Arduino projects, Alice computerContinue reading “Making A Makerspace: Top 10 Tools in a Maker’s Classroom (2012)”

This Week in the Classroom: 2×4 Xylophone

I ended the year with an exploration of music.  I used xylophones, pendulums and windchimes to explore frequency, wavelenght, pitch, volume, etc.  I probably should have found a way to incorporate physical waves, but a trip to the beach was out of the question and I met disaster in my attempts at building a waveContinue reading “This Week in the Classroom: 2×4 Xylophone”

Build a Bench This Weekend

My very first class for TX/RX Labs (or any other place non-school) is completed.  Six students (adult, this time) built benches with me for two half days.  We were a little crunched on time, but we stayed late (or showed up early) and completed our benches. I want to thank my students for coming andContinue reading “Build a Bench This Weekend”

This Week In the Classroom: Pendulum Art (Swinging From the Rafters)

A quick video of our last major math project in my co-taught Math/Sci course.  I will take no credit, Ms. J took the project out of my clumsy claws and completely rocked it! We nicknamed this the spirograph project and you can tell from the wikipedia link that we are WRONG!  It should probably be describedContinue reading “This Week In the Classroom: Pendulum Art (Swinging From the Rafters)”

This Week in the Classroom: Why Mothers Hate Me On Mother’s Day

As a parent, I know that art projects can be a mixed blessing.  Some are breathtaking.  Most should go in the circular file.  Worse still are things my kids build – they fall apart and break.  They take up space. God save me if my sons bring home noise-making pieces of art they have built.Continue reading “This Week in the Classroom: Why Mothers Hate Me On Mother’s Day”

This Week in the Classroom: Art Car

For the past three spring semesters (way back to my work at Citizen Schools) I have led a team of students in the design and construction of an Art Car.  An Art Car, if you don’t know, is an embellished vehicle of some sort.  Last year, I ran a sharkcar, the year before, a gatortruck.Continue reading “This Week in the Classroom: Art Car”