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November 18, 2009

This week in Maker Events

Looking to take a break from tinkering on your latest project this weekend? Here are some fine maker events to check out, from The Maker Events Calendar. Wish your event was on the list? Add it to the calendar!

Coming up this week:

Dorkbot SF
San Francisco, CA
Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009, 7:30pm +

AUTOMATIC: An Art Show Benefit for RoboGames 2010
San Francisco, CA
Thursday, Nov 19, 2009 - Saturday, Nov 21, 2009, 5pm - 8pm

Breadboard Arduino Class
Garland, TX
Thursday, Nov 19, 2009, 7pm +

BRAF Presents - The Artumnal Gathering
San Francisco, CA
Friday, Nov 20, 2009, 9pm +

Make an Arduino from scratch workshop
Columbus, OH
Saturday, Nov 21, 2009, 11am - 2pm

Electronics 101
Atlanta, GA
Saturday, Nov 21, 2009, 2pm - 4pm

Los Angeles Microcontroller Club meeting
Topanga, CA
Saturday, Nov 21, 2009, 11am +

Google Sketch Up Workshop
Baltimore, MD
Saturday, Nov 21, 2009, 1pm - 4pm

Craft Night: Intro to Screen Printing @i3Detroit
Royal Oak, MI
Monday, Nov 23, 2009, 7pm - 9pm

Drop-in Arduino and Electronics classes
Berkeley, CA
Tuesday, Nov 24, 2009, 7pm - 9pm

Project Lab with Expert Included
Berkeley, CA
Tuesday, Nov 24, 2009, 3pm - 6pm

Start planning for:

Make:KC - Show and Tell
Parkville, MO
Tuesday, Dec 1, 2009, 6pm - 8pm

Intro to Welding @Willoughby and Baltic
Somerville, MA
Tuesday, Dec 1, 2009 to Tuesday, Dec 22, 2009, 7pm - 9pm

Woodshop Fundamentals @Willoughby and Baltic
Somerville, MA
Tuesday, Dec 1, 2009 to Tuesday, Dec 22, 2009, 7pm - 9:30pm

build your own lightsaber!
New York, NY
Wednesday, Dec 2, 2009, 1pm - 4pm

November 16, 2009

Make: Philly meeting November 22nd

Live in Philly and looking for a chance to meet up with fellow makers? Well, here's a splendid opportunity. Make: Philly is holding a meeting this weekend!

Make: Philly November meeting - Sunday, November 22nd, 3PM
GUEST SPEAKER

Dana Schloss is a curious and enthusiastic museum nerd. She has been an exhibit fabricator, prototyper, museum educator, and exhibit designer in many museums in Philadelphia and around the country. She's currently playing and prototyping on the New Science Centre Project 2011 at the Telus World of Science in Calgary. She will share her work and experiences to date in exhibit design, fabrication and education.

OPEN MAKE

A staple of all our meetings is Open Make -- an opportunity for you to share with the group a project you recently completed.... if interested in presenting email us at makephilly@gmail to reserve your spot

MAKER CHALLENGE

During the second half of this and every meeting we break into teams and build something to meet the objective of the 'maker challenge'. For this meeting we're going to design and build a "Maker's Museum" -- a suite of museum style mini exhibits in just 45 minutes. Teams will select a topic in the theme of "How Things Work" and build an exhibit that teaches how something works through interaction and visuals but without using any words. Teams will keep their topics secret from other teams during construction. At the close of the meeting, everyone will get the chance to tour the museum exhibits and guess what each exhibit is about.

Make: Philly November meeting
Sunday, Nov.22 at 3pm
University of the Arts
211 S. Broad Street, Terra Hall, 5th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Do you have an event coming up? Check out the Maker Events Calendar and add yours!

November 13, 2009

Ham Hiking: North American SOTA Activity Day

Today is the first North American SOTA (Summits on the Air) Activity Day. Ham radio operators across North America will be hiking up mountain tops to activate summits by setting up portable radios to make contacts. You can join in and activate your own summit, visit here for more details. Or you can make contacts with activators, or listen in. Check SOTAWatch to see who will be on the air, at which location and frequency. Currently more there are more than 16 activations scheduled.

Handmade Music Austin #2 this Sunday

From the MAKE Flickr pool

Looks like the Austin-area Handmade event series is going strong, not to be missed for those local -

We’ll be building 4ms’ Autonomous Bassline Generator. The upper division class is filled but there should be some space in the beginner class. Even if there aren’t any seats available, there will be all kinds of things happening in the gallery space for EAST. You can play with the Thingamagoop 2, Eric Archer’s noisemakers, Andromeda Space Rocker kits as well as other handmade instuments.

More details over at Handmade Music.

November 12, 2009

QuahogCon: Call for Papers now open!

MAKE subscriber John Duksta writes in to tell us that the Quahogcon Maker Culture/Information Security conference call for papers is now open. QuahogCon is a new conference, conveniently located in Providence, RI, and proceeds will go to benefit the FabLab hackerspace. They're looking for makers to give talks about their awesome projects, and this could be a cool opportunity to share you latest invention!

Description: Come one, come all! Screw up your courage and get up to talk in front of a room full of folks at QuahogCon! We're a new conference in Providence, RI, looking to give you a place in the Northeast to present your ideas on Information Security and Maker Culture. We're here to encourage the hacker ethic in all its forms.

November 11, 2009

This week in Maker Events

Coming up this week:
Philly Robotics November 09 Meetup
Philadelphia, PA
Thursday, Nov 12, 2009, 7:30pm +

ioBridge @ HackPGH
Pittsburgh, PA
Friday, Nov 13, 2009, 7pm - 8pm

She's Geeky DC: A Technology Conference for Women
Washington, DC
Friday, Nov 13, 2009 - Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 9am - 5pm

BarCamp DC #3
Washington, DC
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 9:30am - 5:30pm

Project Re-Use
Katy, TX
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 8am - 6pm

Electronics 101
Atlanta, GA
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 2pm - 4pm

Intro to Soft Circuits @ HackPGH
Pittsburgh, PA
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 1pm - 4pm

Build Your Own Retro Computer @ NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 1pm - 4pm

Visit PIXAR with the Cartoon Art Museum
Emeryville, CA
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 11am - 4pm

Annual Analog Synth Meeting
Mountain View, CA
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 10am - 8pm

DIY Vacuum Form @ NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, Nov 15, 2009, 1pm - 4pm

Drop-in Arduino and Electronics classes
Berkeley, CA
Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009, 7pm - 9pm

22nd Annual Faraday Lecture (FREE Science Demo)
Pittsburgh, PA
Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009, 7:30pm +

Start planning for:
Breadboard Arduino Class
Garland, TX
Thursday, Nov 19, 2009, 7pm +

BRAF Presents - The Artumnal Gathering
San Francisco, CA
Friday, Nov 20, 2009, 9pm +

Los Angeles Microcontroller Club meeting
Topanga, CA
Saturday, Nov 21, 2009, 11am +

Google Sketch Up Workshop
Baltimore, MD
Saturday, Nov 21, 2009, 1pm - 4pm

Intro to Arduino 1: Build an Arduino @ HackPGH
Pittsburgh, PA
Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, 10am - 1pm

Intro to Programming Arduino: Physical Pixel @ HackPGH
Pittsburgh, PA
Saturday Nov. 21, 2009, 3pm - 7pm

Put Your Arduino Project On the Web @ NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, Nov 22, 2009, 2pm - 4pm

November 9, 2009

Bent 2010 Open Call for Performers, Artists, and Instructors

The Tank is already accepting submissions for Bent 2010 : The 7th Annual Circuit Bending Festival -

Tentative Festival Dates: New York, NY Bent Festival - April 22, 23, and 24 Proposal Deadline: December 1, 2009 Participant Notification: December 11, 2009 In keeping with the expanding interests of the community, this year we are continuing to open the Bent Festival to performers and artists that create their own electronics as well as to those who hack, bend, modify and destroy them. We are currently seeking performers and artists to participate specifically in these categories: Performers, Installation Artists, Artwork Submissions and Workshop Instructors. Please send all proposals and questions to: New York Bent Festival - bentnyc@thetanknyc.org

Read on for more infos -

Read full story

November 4, 2009

This week in Maker Events

Coming up this week:

Electromechanics for Everything
Oakland, CA
Wednesdays, Nov 4 to Dec 2, 2009, 6pm - 9pm

SOFAlab: Scientists Visualize / Artists Experiment
Washington, DC
Thursday, Nov 5, 2009, 6pm+

Alpha One Labs Grand Opening - "Light Up The Night" - Fund-Raising Party
Brooklyn, NY
Friday, Nov 6, 2009 8pm - 12am

Mobile Art && Code
Pittsburgh, PA
Friday, Nov 6 to Sunday, Nov 8, 2009, all weekend

World Championship Punkin Chunkin
Sussex County, DE
Friday, Nov 6 to Sunday, Nov 8, 2009, all weekend

PCB Design Using Eagle @ NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, Nov 7, 2009, 2pm - 5pm

Data carving with Danja Vasiliev and Gordan Savicic
Berlin, Germany
Saturday, Nov 7, 2009, 2pm - 8pm

Intro to MIG Welding
Somerville, MA
Sunday, Nov 8, 2009, 9:30am - 12:30pm

CPUs 0b1100101: Intro to computer processors @ NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, Nov 8, 2009, 1pm - 3pm

Introduction to Electronics @ NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, Nov 8, 2009, 3:30pm - 6:30pm

Drop-in Arduino and Electronics classes
Berkeley, CA
Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009, 7pm - 9pm

GO-Tech November Meeting
Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009, 7pm - 11pm

Make Louisville inaugural meeting
Louisville, KY
Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009, 8pm

Stop Motion Animation Workshop
Milwaukee, WI
Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009, 6pm - 9pm

Start planning for:

ioBridge @ HackPGH
Pittsburgh, PA
Friday, Nov 13, 2009, 7pm - 8pm

Intro to Soft Circuits @ HackPGH
Pittsburgh, PA
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 1pm - 4pm

Build Your Own Retro Computer @ NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 1pm - 4pm

Visit PIXAR with the Cartoon Art Museum
Emeryville, CA
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 11am - 4pm

DIY Vacuum Form @ NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, Nov 15, 2009, 1pm - 4pm

22nd Annual Faraday Lecture (FREE Science Demo)
Pittsburgh, PA
Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009, 7:30pm +

November 3, 2009

Make: NYC Meeting November 12

If you tried to go to the last Make: NYC meeting and were thwarted, like me, by the police blocking the street (for an unrelated construction problem), you'll be happy to read this announcement for the next Make: NYC meeting, featuring fewer cops!

Make:NYC Meeting 16 - Thursday November 12th, 6:30PM

We're bringing back a favorite challenge for all you makers! We're excited to see how new faces and new ideas can take this challenge to the next level

Challenge: Return of the Blimps

You've got brains, we've got blimps! Three teams will compete to make ordinary RC blimps perform extraordinarily. We'll provide the blimps, helium and some standard Make:NYC challenge materials. Arrive on time to make sure you get in on all the lighter-than-air action cause it's gonna be a blast!

Show and Tell

Meet your fellow NYC Makers and show off your creations! Bring your gadgets, gizmos, sketches, ideas, anything you'd like to put in the spotlight. We encourage NYC Makers to collaborate on and discuss DIY projects. If you're planning to bring a project, drop us a note at meetings@makenyc.org.

If you'd like to attend we have plenty of space for everyone, but please RSVP!

Make: NYC meeting 16
Thursday, November 12th, 6:30PM
Bug Labs
598 Broadway at Houston, 4th floor
New York, NY 10012

Do you have an event coming up? Check out the Maker Events Calendar and add yours!

November 2, 2009

Make: Halloween Contest 2009 - Last call!

Halloween may have come and gone, but there's still 24 hours to get your entries in to our Make: Halloween Contest 2009! We want to see your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects! All you have to do is fill out the form.

Make: Halloween Contest 2009

There's still time left to enter the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Deadline is 11:59 PM PST, November 3rd. Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner.

A Halloween souvenir

Last Friday night, this piece of "blood"-soaked "meat" (which is, I think, actually some kind of dyed latex product) was smeared roundly about my face and neck by a large man, who may or may not be named "Thor," dressed as a butcher, at the 2009 annual Scare for a Cure haunted house, held ~~each~~ this year at the palatial Austin estate of video-game entrepreneur Richard Garriott, aka Lord British. I paid a couple of extra bucks for the special glowing red chemiluminescent necklace that identified me as amenable to the "extreme," full-contact version of the experience, and I'm so glad that I did.

My friend, Christie, got about a bucket of "blood" "vomited" onto her head by a ceiling-mounted ghoul, and came out looking like Carrie on prom night. I saw it happen, and the moment is frozen for me like a scene from a Dario Argento movie: Christie's blond locks, suffused by a pale, flickering, blue-green backlight, her mouth slightly open as she looks up, laughing, into the torrent of black, sticky ichor that tumbles, in exaggerated slow motion, onto her face. In my mind's eye, I can still see my own gaping mouth reflected in a small, spherical droplet of that blood as it spatters across space and time. I think that droplet will be falling, in my memory, for many years to come.

Thanks to all the volunteers who worked so hard to make this such an incredible event. If you missed it this year, go mark your calendars now.

Make: Halloween Contest 2009

There's still time left to enter the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Deadline is 11:59 PM PDT, November 3rd. Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner.

North Brooklyn Hackerspace opening Friday: Alpha One Labs

A new hackerspace is opening in Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY: Alpha One Labs.

Alpha One Labs hackerspace was founded in the summer of July 2009. Boasting radical inclusivity, Alpha One Labs superb design aims to provide a safe, clean space for users of all ages and interests to work on projects together. We also have weekly classes including the expected soldering and electronic projects along with some exciting additions like popsicle stick projects for kids and "ask a hacker" sessions for seniors.

They're having a grand opening fund-raising party on Friday:

Come "Light Up The Night" at our Grand Opening Fund-Raising Party. We'll have a cash prize raffle (Based on number of foursquare check ins that night. $5 per ticket, winner announced at 12am), a silent auction with various items up for bids and games such as the plug and switch race, 4 player Dreamcast and more throughout the night.

Come dressed in your wearable lights and bring lasers! We have laser controlled lights! Beer and drinks are free. $10 donation at door. RSVP.

Alpha One Labs Grand Opening Fund-Raising Party
Friday, November 6th, 8PM
65 Maspeth Ave #1A
Brooklyn, NY 11211 (Graham Ave. L)

October 30, 2009

Teach Me to Make classes in the Bay Area

Judy Castro and Michael Shiloh run a series of classes called "Teach Me to Make" on a variety of subject such as electronics and arduino, mechanical sculpture, and electromechanics. Classes are run out of The Crucible and The Shipyard. Michael writes:

More recently (2-3 months) I've been teaching classes at my workshop which is now back in The Shipyard. I hold two classes every Tuesday: In the afternoon is a Project Lab, where students work on their own projects with my guidance, assistance, and tools. In the evening is the Arduino and Electronics class, where lately we have been focusing on controlling stepper motors. Both of these classes are stand-alone, in that students attend whenever they are able, and each meeting is guided by the knowledge and interest of those present.

This week in Maker Events

Coming up this week:

High Fashion Low Voltage (part 1) Arduino Lilypad @ Science Museum of Minnesota
Saint Paul, MN
Saturday, Oct 31, 2009, 9am - 12pm, then weekly

Workshop: Circuit Bending @ Balitmore Node
Baltimore, MD
Saturday, Oct 31, 2009, 1pm - 4pm

Journey to the End of the Night
San Francisco, CA
Saturday, Oct 31, 2009, 7pm +

Dorkbot SoCal 38
Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, Oct 31, 2009, 1pm +

Manchester Science Festival 2009
Manchester, United Kingdom
Saturday, Oct 24, 2009 - Sunday, Nov 1, 2009

Dorkbot NYC
New York, NY
Wednesday, Nov 4, 2009, 7pm +

Start planning for:

Mobile Art && Code
Pittsburgh, PA
Friday, Nov 6 to Sunday, Nov 8, 2009, all weekend

World Championship Punkin Chunkin
Sussex County, DE
Friday, Nov 6 to Sunday, Nov 8, 2009, all weekend

Grand Opening - "Light Up The Night" @ Alpha One Labs
Brooklyn, NY
Friday, Nov 6, 2009, 8pm - 12am

PCB Design Using Eagle @ NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, Nov 7, 2009, 2pm - 5pm

Intro to Soft Circuits @ Hack Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
Saturday, Nov 14, 2009, 1pm - 4pm

October 25, 2009

MassTEC Conference

Last week, at the annual MassTEC conference, an interesting collection of technology engineering education, science, and math teachers gathered to share experiences and information. Here are some highlights:

Johanna Bunn, of the Boston Museum of Science, introduced the Engineering the Future curriculum, with interactive demonstrations of hands-on projects introducing students to structures, fluids, and electricity.

The forum on the Massachusetts state science and technology curriculum frameworks introduced a series of strand maps that show how the concepts and possible activities in the various STEM subjects interrelate. Their hope is that existing and new courses could be designed so that they step students through learning ideas within courses and how the courses could build upon each other. Right now, the maps are static PDFs, but their goal is to have them be more interactive in the way they connect projects and concepts.

Martha Cyr, Director of K-12 Outreach at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, showed the TEACHEngineering site, which has resources for K-12 teachers. The site's search engine allows teachers to find curriculum and projects that map to many states' frameworks, and loads of scientific and engineering concepts. The curriculum tools on the site have a consistent look and feel and have been tested by STEM teachers.

Nate Ball of Design Squad told of his experiences in backyard, garage, and kitchen making. Though his school in Oregon lacked a hands-on technology and engineering program, his childhood was filled with adventures of the making sort. His rigorous personal projects and academic record led him to MIT, where he discovered what engineers do. When WGBH uncovered a need for youth to understand more about the realities and techniques of engineering, he was in a group of students who helped to develop possible projects for the show before he tested for and ultimately filled the role of host. The show encourages creativity, teamwork, and real world problem solving. The third season of Design Squad has just begun airing, and the site has lots of curriculum resources, and full episodes of the show.

If you are involved in an organization helping to prepare teachers and their students for a lifetime of making, pass along some links in the comments.

October 23, 2009

PopTech reimagines America

The PopTech conference is currently underway in Camden, ME. We sent some emissaries from MAKE, namely Zach and Kim DeBord, Mike Gould, and Stuart Gaines. Zach is an artist and BEAMbot builder. He did the awesome bots (and photos) for my "Pummer, Dude!" [PDF] piece in MAKE, Volume 08. Mike Gould has a project, "Lunchbox Laser Shows," in the upcoming "Kids of All Ages" issue, Volume 20, of MAKE. Stuart Gaines writes:

In Camden Maine this week, the annual PopTech conference has taken over the town's beautifully-restored 18th century opera house where an "A-list" of speakers contemplates the "re-invention" of America.
Just down the block, on Elm St., in a converted auto garage, two master makers are demonstrating how to take everyday objects, found in the techno-trash or commonly sourced on eBay, and re-invent them as high-tech gadgets with new purpose. It's a mini-Maker Faire amidst the dazzling fall foliage. All day long, a steady stream of PopTech attendees wander into the garage. In the first bay, they meet Mike Gould and learn how he embeds red, green, and blue lasers into lunchboxes and slide projectors. In the next bay, Zach DeBord and his wife Kim are fashioning buzzing, twittering toys, soldered together from junked calculators, spare motors, wires, and postage stamp-sized solar cells.

Just down Route 1, in nearby Rockland, a lucky group of PopTechies got a chance to pull a spoke-shave at The Apprenticeshop, one of the oldest traditional boat-building schools in the country. Lance Lee, founder of the Apprenticeshop, was on-hand to explain the joys of working with wood, and his boat-building projects, including a smaller version of Tremolino, a 19th Century lateen-rigged Mediterranean workboat used by Joseph Conrad.

Back at PopTech, speakers expound on the impact of new technologies with a thought-provoking mix of optimism and fear. A disturbing contrast to "creative re-use" was photographer Chris Jordan's photographs of seabirds brought down by plastic refuse. Jordan has just returned from Midway Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. His photographs were literally "breathtaking." The opera house audience was left speechless by his story of the destructive impact of these everyday materials. See "Midway: Message from the Gyre" on his site.

PopTech runs through Saturday, October 24.

Marshmallow shooter battle this weekend in NYC

If you've built one of the marshmallow shooters from MAKE, vol 02, this Saturday's Marshmallow Civil War is for you. Actually, there's still plenty of time to head to the hardware store and make one in time for the event:

A historical reenactment in New York of questionable accuracy. With marshmallows. Many years ago, widespread unrest in the region and a perplexing overabundance of marshmallows led to a soft armed conflict between opposing sides. More moderate citizens flew the flag of Yellow, while the more radical aligned themselves with Red.

Marshmallow pistols, jet-puffed assault rifles, bow-and-mallows and Peep grenades decimated each army until no soldier was left alive. This is a reenactment of that epic battle.

Sides will be chosen, marshmallow weapons will be loaded, and chaos will ensue.

Commenter Shawn Q has set the tone quite nicely by saying "PH34R MY P33P GRENAAAADEZ." [Thanks, Fil!]

More:

The Steel Yard's Iron Pour fires up in Providence on 10/30

2008 Iron Pour

Beth from The Steel Yard in Providence, RI writes in with news of their upcoming Iron Pour:

Watch the Iron Guild fire up their furnaces for the 4th annual molten metal spectacular. In the past they've brought us fiery hearts, zombie kings, and glowing skulls. This year...pumpkin casting and a giant flaming Jack-O-Lantern!

Music provided by Empty House Cooperative.

Enjoy hot cider, doughnuts, and wood-fired pizza while you take in the performance. The event will also feature a bowl sale by the Steel Yard Ceramic Artist Cooperative.

We are looking for volunteers, contact Jackson at jackson@thesteelyard.org or (401) 273-7101 if you are interested in helping out.

Please call or e-mail our office with any questions at 401-273-7101 or contact@thesteelyard.org.

Iron Pour
Iron Pour 2008 - a set on Flickr

October 22, 2009

Thumping, squawking, & soldering @ the first Handmade Music Austin!

There was no shortage of attendees (or noises!) at Austin's first Handmade Music event. The mass kit-build was a definite success, with all participants bringing home fully-functional mini sound modules. Kit designer Eric Archer came equipped with 25 different capacitor recipes for his Mini Space Rockers - thus keeping the sonic landscape fresh - and loud!

October 21, 2009