Hawaii Association of School Librarians Conference

This past Saturday (April 30) I had the pleasure to present two hands-on workshops for the Hawaii Association of School Librarians Conference here on Oahu.

The first session was an into to the MakeyMakey using Scratch. Most of the attendees had not heard of MakeyMakeys and only a few were familiar with Scratch. After a brief intro...to give them just enough to get them started...they set out making controllers for Scratch games.

The second session was on making simple circuits. Using coin cell batteries, LEDs and copper tape, I instructed the session on how to make a simple circuit. After people got this first circuit working (and there were some that didn't work, so they had to problem solve) they brainstormed other ways they could use this with their students.

I wasn't the only 'Iolani staff member at the conference. Gabe Yanagihara and Michael Fricano also did sessions.

The Mini-Society Is Open For Business

The third grade mini-society was open for business today and a stop by shows that making is not only done in school.  The business signs and name tags were created in the Lab on the laser cutter, but all the rest was done at home. Check out some of these home-made businesses:

This student found a "Life Hack for Kids" video on Youtube and made these cell phone holder/amplifiers with toilet paper rolls. The great thing was that he was able to explain how they worked. 

Some students even made their own items to sell at their store.

Ribbons

Stuffed Animals

Lollypops 

Designer Bottles

Jewelry and Rocks

One even had moving parts. This was a "wack a mole" type game

Check out the levels under the table...pretty cool making.

Third Grade is "Making" To Get Back To Space

Our first-third grade science teacher, Mrs. Warner, is again challenging the third grade students to go out in solar system. As part of their unit on outer space, Mrs. Warner has them imagine, plan and create space exploration vehicles. This set of "lessons" has begun and I have been invited to help students with the "making" part of the project. My job is to cut things they can't cut (like old PCBs or hard plastic bottles), help hot glue (I man the "high-temp" gun) and answer design questions.

Design Sheet

Labeled Diagram w/NASA approval

Recycled Material

Time To Create

Here are some more of their creations as they take shape:

Peter Rabbit's Garden Goes To The FabLab

Our kindergarteners planted "Peter Rabbit's" garden, but they had a problem. There were no signs saying what each plan was. So off to the FabLab they hopped.

After brainstorming what they wanted on their plant's stake, they drew it on a 3x5 card. The teacher then reduced it on the printer and they gave them to me. We scanned each drawing and send it to the computer. There, using Inkscape, we draw a stake shape around the picture and laser cut it out.

Here's some examples of how they looked: