Maker Madness

Step out of your imagination and into the workshop, where you’ll learn to build things that formerly existed only in your mind. Fancy making a light up model plane? Or a beautiful spinning, kinetic flower? How about an alarm to protect your stash of biscuits? Come with your mad ideas and we’ll help you achieve them.

This jam-packed course will cover design software, laser cutters, power tools, soldering, programming, and whatever else your project needs in order to come to life.

 

Course Outline:

Over the course of eight weeks students will plan, research, prototype, build and revise a project of their own design.

Each student will leave the course with their own bespoke creation. Since this is a creative workshop no two projects will be exactly the same!

Materials

A wide variety of materials will be available, ranging from electronic LEDs, motors, piezo buzzers, and battery packs to more traditional building materials such as cardboard, plywood, and nails.

Students will also have the opportunity to use Arduino micro-controllers, however, these will not be available to take home.

Throughout the course, students will learn the art of time management and creative planning as well as basic research skills to help them along their journey.

Proper safety training will be given for all tools and equipment, prior to their use.

Students will learn to use a soldering iron and laser cutter under instructor supervision. Appropriate eye-protection will be worn and students will be walked through safety protocols for using these tools. The soldering iron will only be used by one student at a time, under instructor supervision.

About Jess Weichler

Jess Weichler is a media arts educator at the MakerBox.

Ever since childhood she has been creating digital worlds through game design. Aside from a few lessons learnt from her 8-year old students, she is self-taught in the Scratch programming language, the Processing java subset, and a robotic Hummingbird micro-controller. She has taught these skills since 2012, and her courses are still in use both locally and abroad in the United States.