Category Archives: STEAM

Awesomesauce, design, STEAM, Things to Do

Join us for late summer programs…plan for the fall

Save the Date!

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Neri Oxman
A new approach to Nature-Inspired Design and Egineering

Thursday 10/2/14
Ira Allen Chapel
Sponsored by UVM’s College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences | Aiken Lecture Series
Learn More

Things to do and start in August….

Break it! Build it!

Through  September 13, 2014
Burlington City Arts Center

Break It! Build It! is an exhibition focusing on artists who embody the DIY spirit. Artists in the exhibition break, crush, destroy, and manipulate everyday objects to build, invent, and create their work.  Artists Included : Christopher Abrams, Colin Brahmstedt, John Cohn, Maxwell Cohn, Eric Hall, Beatriz Herrera, Ken Howell, Jenn Karson, Keegan Kuvach, Kristin Rogers

Critical Making Discussion

Wednesday August 20th @ 6:30pm
Burlington City Arts Center

Join artist Jenn Karson and BCA curator DJ Hellerman for an open, community dialogue about Critical Making and Burlington’s place in bridging the gap between creative physical and conceptual exploration.

Call For Makers!

Exhibit at Champlain Mini Maker Faire. Open until August 10.
Learn More

In The News:

Vermont Edition, Vermont Public Radio
Noon and 7pm, August 7

Vermont Edition will interview Doug Webster of Champlain Maker Faire and Jenn Karson and Ken Howell of Vermont Makers about the Vermont maker movement, check it. Makers all around the state are encouraged to phone in!

Across the Fence, UVM Extension 
August 12, 2014, 12:10 pm on WCAX
Featuring “Toy Hacking” from this summer’s “Vermont Makers and Librarians Spark a Culture of Innovation”

Across the Fence is the longest running daily farm and home television program in the country. Across the Fence is a 15 minute program produced by University of Vermont Extension. The program airs weekdays at 12:10 pm on WCAX TV, Channel 3.

Vermont Libraries and Makers Spark a Culture of Innovation

Late summer programs
Please preregister with participating libraries. There is a limit of 20 participants per workshop.

Program descriptions at STEAM-e-ZINE

Aldrich Public Library

6 Washington St, Barre, VT 05641
(802) 476-7550

  • Creative Creatures: August 8, 1-4pm

Castleton Free Library

638 Main St, Castleton, VT 05735
(802) 468-5574

  • E-textiles: August 7, 6-9pm

Quechee Public Library
1957 Quechee Main St, Quechee, VT 05059
(802) 295-1232

  • Creative Creatures August 9, 11am-2pm

Westford Public Library
1717 Vermont 128, Westford, VT 05494
(802) 878-5639
www.westfordpubliclibrary.org

  • E-textiles August 7,  6-9

Fairfax Community Library
75 Hunt St, Fairfax, VT 05454
(802) 849-2420

  • Squishy Circuits August 16, 10-1pm
Education, innovation, STEAM, Things to Do

Exhibition: Break it! Build it! at Burlington City Arts Center

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Read the Burlington Free Press article

JULY 25 – SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Opening Reception Friday July 25, 5-8pm

Taking BCA’s popular summer camp as its point of departure, Break It! Build It! is an exhibition focusing on artists who embody the DIY spirit. Artists in the exhibition break, crush, destroy, and manipulate everyday objects to build, invent, and create their work. From altered couches to hacked iPods and installations using raw construction materials, Break It! Build It! will challenge the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and examine the ways destruction may be a necessary component of construction.

The exhibition will also feature work by young artists that was created in this summer’s Break It! Build It! camps.

Artists Included : Christopher Abrams, Colin Brahmstedt, John Cohn, Maxwell Cohn, Eric Hall, Beatriz Herrera, Ken Howell, Jenn Karson, Keegan Kuvach, Kristin Rogers

Wednesday August 20th @ 6:30pm at BCA.:

Join artist Jenn Karson and BCA curator DJ Hellerman for an open, community dialogue about Critical Making and Burlington’s place in bridging the gap between creative physical and conceptual exploration.

Guided Tours Open to the Public:

Saturday, August 9, 12 – 1pm
Thursdays, August 14 and 21, 12-1 pm

Exhibition sponsored by Saint Michael’s College

Funded in part by a grant from the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment For The Arts

Farrell Distributing, Harpoon Brewery and Fluid Bar Service are proud sponsors of BCA Center exhibitions and events

Awesomesauce, e-textiles, Education, maker spaces, STEAM, Things to Do, wearables, Workshops

STEAM-y Summer Library Programs! Meet our educators

summer-library-program

For Vermont Kids and Families
July + August 2014

This summer Vermont Makers and its partners are producing 28 programs at 14 Vermont libraries all across the state of Vermont! Programs for kids of all ages will showcase hands-on STEAM-y (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) projects.

Programs were created for middle school kids and older. Please preregister with participating libraries.

For the program schedule and descriptions of programs, visit STEAM-e-ZINE!

Meet our Educators:

Rebecca Schwarz works across disciplines to enrich health through art on individual, collective and Earth based levels. Her art is inspired by patterns in nature with technology as one more layer of patterning. She has a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in sculpture and an MFA in interdisciplinary arts focused on community engaged art, teaching and ecological art. Rebecca teaches at Champlain College and coordinates Art from the Heart, connecting children, families and caregivers with play and creativity in the hospital. Her work can be seen at rebeccaschwarz.com.

Cecilia Telefus displayed a passion for technology from a young age and enrolled in her first class focusing on electricity at the age of 17. She went on to college to learn more about her passion and subsequently landed a job maintaining semiconductor fabrication and test equipment. Her lifelong interest led her to work in a wide variety of technical roles such as an electromagnetic effects lab technician, a professional pyro-technician, and most recently as a Product Support Analyst at a web solutions firm. As the daughter of an artist she is excited about the endless possibilities the Maker Movement will present for the fusing of two of her favorite interests.

Dayle Payne has been a teacher for almost thirty years, the last eight as a technology teacher at Georgia Elementary and Middle School. A self described joyous nerd, she loves dabbling in all things technology related. Special interests currently include eTextiles, laser cutting odd shapes for jewelry making and Arduino processing.

Lynn Motschman formalized her need to know how things work with a BS in architecture and engineering at Norwich University, but her real education came about raising four children with unbridled curiosity. Helping out in Vermont libraries’ STEAM-powered summer offerings seemed like a natural place to extend the excitement she felt working with her own kids and more recently, as a student herself in the U of Vermont FabLab. Lynn is really looking forward to meeting the next generation of makers and inventors, to see what they can teach her.

Jenn Karson
Bio

Beverly Ball is a long-time teacher of art, craft, welding & technology at Denver Academy where she established the Saipe Family Metal Arts Studio, the TinkerBelles girls’ maker club, and the schoolwide Craft/Tech/Art Lab. Her specialty lies in blending art-making, academics, skills and mischief.

Caleb Clark is the director of the EdTech master’s program at Marlboro College, where he also teaches and coordinates academic technology support. He has been a Web geek since 1994 and an educational technologist since 1999. Caleb’s interests include: eportfolios, online media production for teachers, physical computing, citizen journalism, and humanizing technology. Caleb’s passion for Internet technology and media began when he joined the dot com revolution in San Francisco in the mid-1990s. He went on to work in educational technology in corportate (Netscape, Maxis), K-12 (High Tech High) and higher education (SDSU, NYU, Antioch) organizations before settling down at Marlboro College in 2008. Caleb regularly presents at conferences and publishes.

hacker spaces, innovation, maker spaces, STEAM, Things to Do, Workshops

Vermont Libraries to Transform into Maker Spaces This Summer

June 23, 2014
For immediate release
Contact: Erica Houskeeper, Erica.Houskeeper@uvm.edu, 802-498-5495

Vermont Libraries to Transform into Maker Spaces This Summer
UVM CEMS supporting development of library STEAM programs

The University of Vermont is supporting the development of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts + Math) programs for Vermont public libraries this summer.

Fourteen public libraries from Craftsbury to Charlotte to Castleton will offer summer maker workshops for K-12 students as part of the new “Vermont Makers and Libraries: Sparking a Culture of Innovation” project. The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Vermont Department of Libraries, Vermont Makers, the University of Vermont College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Vermont Library Association and CMF Innovations.

“By teaching and sharing technical literacy, we can help empower students through valuable and fun learning experiences,” said Jennifer Karson, founder of Vermont Makers and instructor with the University of Vermont FabLab at the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. “The project encourages individual creativity, collaboration and lifelong learning.”

The three-hour workshops will be held June 25 to Aug. 9 and will be taught by local educators trained by Karson. The libraries are each offering two of the five modules: Creative Creatures, Squishy Circuits, Toy Hacking, E-Origami and E-textiles. Participants will learn how to use digital and physical tools to help strengthen their deductive reasoning, logical thinking and problem-solving skills.

A $20,000 Vermont Community Foundation Innovations and Collaborations Grant and a $5,000 grant from UVM CEMS are helping to fund the program. UVM CEMS is providing space for the train-the-trainer workshops for educators as part of the Vermont Engineering Initiative, and the Vermont Department of Libraries is helping coordinate and implement the program in libraries around the state.

“The maker movement is alive and well in Vermont, and like the rest of the nation, public libraries are an important player in providing opportunities to engage in these hands-on creation programs,” said State Librarian Martha Reid of the Vermont Department of Libraries. “I love the ways that maker programs can foster intergenerational learning, introduce novices and experts alike to technology and STEM, and promote teamwork and collective problem-solving.”

Modeled after hacker spaces, a maker space is a place where young people have an opportunity to explore their own interests, learn to use tools and materials and develop creative projects. In recent years, libraries across the country have embraced the trend to create maker spaces for communities.

Librarian Susan O’Connell of the Craftsbury Public Library, who was instrumental in getting the summer program off the ground, said she first witnessed the power of maker spaces at the Champlain Valley Maker Faire two years ago.

“As a librarian and teacher, too often I see children’s scientific curiosity extinguished when science is taught as a set of facts to memorize without the thrill of exploration and discovery,” she said. “At the Champlain Valley Maker Faire, people of all ages were experimenting with trajectory with a pumpkin-chucking trebuchet, learning how to solder, and watching electricity play along a tesla coil. People were trying, sharing and exploring new ideas, and kids were incredibly excited.”

O’Connell said the idea was also inspired by the Collaborative Summer Library Program, which creates programs and activities designed to encourage children to learn and read during the summer. This summer’s theme is science.

Communities participating in the initiative include Bennington, Barre, Charlotte, Craftsbury, Castleton, Fairfax, Groton, Jericho, Poultney, Quechee, Richford, Warren, Westford and Williston.

“Our goal is to make it possible for children who might not have access to this kind of programming in rural areas to engage in fun, hands-on activities and discover how science works in everyday life,” O’Connell said. “While all of the participants might not become scientists, they’ll be better prepared to thrive in our technological world.”

For more information and a list of participating libraries, visit http://steam-e-zine.com/index.php/spark-a-culture-of-innovation.

Two images are available for download (courtesy of Vermont Engineering Initiative), one of educators training for the Toy Hacking STEAM program and an image of a toy. Toy Hacking is one of the STEAM and Maker programs offered this summer in Vermont public libraries. Download the images here: http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/images/high_res/STEAM/

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UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS 
86 South Williams Street
Burlington, VT 05401-3404
Phone (802) 656-2005 • Fax (802) 656-3203
E-mail: newserv@uvm.edu
Online: www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr
Arduino, Education, Physical Computing, STEAM, Things to Do

ArtDuino Maker Camp is Coming!

ArtDuino Maker Camp is Coming!

August 4 – 8 9:30 am – 3:30 pm Shelburne Farms Coach Barn

From the creators of the Champlain Mini Maker Faire and Cognizant, Making the Future comes the
ArtDuino Maker Camp!

Day campers ages 10-18 will avail themselves the art of making by exploring: electronic wearables, Arduino micro controllers, robotics, 3D printing, wireless controls and musical instrument making alongside dance, theatrics, and story hacking. Activities culminate at week’s end in a community performance and show and tell.  Pre and post camp daycare is available on site.
Go Here to Register for ArtDuino Maker Camp

A Week of Exploring

  • With more than 7 maker instructors (coming from across the USA), teacher apprentices, parent chaperones, and guest speakers, campers will experience a week of exploring new technologies, creation, and innovation that will spark their imaginations and a quest for learning, doing, and creating. On Monday, the group will gather to vote on a theme for the week. Theme choices include Story Hack, Movement, and more. Below is a sample schedule for the week (subject to change):
    • 9:30-10:30 Story Hack or Movement
    • 10:30-11:30 E-wearables, JunkMan, or Costume Hack
    • 11:30-12:00 Art, Movement, or Costume Hack
    • 12:00-1:00 Lunch
    • 1:00-2:00 Robots, JunkMan, Art, or Costume Hack
    • 2:00-3:30 Junkman Music, Movement, Set Design, or Costume Hack

Instructors

Donald KnaackDonald Knaack (aka The Junkman™) is a classically trained percussionist and composer who has used recycled materials as his instruments of music since long before the eco-green movement was cool. He’s the Daddy of Eco-Beat!! He calls it Junk Music™ and it all began with his mentor and collaborator, John Cage encouraged the further development of his attraction to the sounds of found objects. He’s performed at Lincoln Center, The Van’s Warped Tour (with Eminem, Black Eyed Peas and Blink 182), The United Nations, The Kennedy Center, and more. He is currently developing and producing a children’s television show about music and the environment called Junk Music with The Junkman, and has a new, one man musical/visual/theatrical extravaganza entitled BEAT IT! with The Junkman.
Nate HerzogNate Herzog is the creator of StoryHack Media, whose mission is to reimagine storytelling using technology. SHM threw its first competition last October called StoryHackVT, a 24 hour, hackathon-styled cross media event involving 15 teams of 55 participants from Vermont, New York, and beyond. More information can be found at Storyhackmedia.com Outside of StoryHack, Nate is a writer, storyteller, and technology consultant. He lives with his wife and family in Burlington.
Joe ChaseJoe Chase has been teaching physics and robotics for over 20 years. He is dedicated to making science and technology accessible to learners of all ages. He has received the MIT Inspirational Teacher Award and has twice received the Vermont Outstanding Teacher Award.
Beverly BallBeverly Ball is an enthusiastic teacher of art, welding, e-textiles, sewing, paper engineering, and mischief at Denver Academy and beyond. Kids love her. Parents can’t figure her out.
Lydia LittwinLydia Y. Littwin has the great fortune to spend her days teaching and making art with children and adults at the Davis Studio in the South End of Burlington. An undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Art Education fuel her belief that art-making is a useful and necessary tool for self-expression and exploration at any age. As a life-long New England resident, her own work is greatly inspired by the colors that come with the physical, emotional and environmental changes of each season. Lydia works namely with oil paint, but is also prone to creating with gouache, linoleum prints, pencil, and pastel.
Heather MorrisHeather Morris is a mover and shaker in the world of Celtic dance, and is constantly finding innovative ways to expand and enhance traditional art forms. In addition to being a certified instructor of Scottish Highland and Irish dance, Heather is certified in Les Mills International BodyPump and BodyFlow, and has more than 15 years experience running summer camps.
Angela SheehanAngela Sheehan is currently an Education Outreach Coordinator for SparkFun Electronics where she specializes in e-textile and craft technology projects and workshops. With a background in fine art, costuming, and animation she began working within the realm of wearable computing projects during her studies at Bennington College, producing a series of costumes augmented with electronics in collaboration with Rebecca Grabman (’08). In 2009 she launched a blog Soft Circuit Saturdays to host her continuing explorations in e-textiles and the maker movement and taught workshops throughout New England before relocating to Boulder Colorado to join the SparkFun team in 2013.

Go Here to Register for ArtDuino Maker Camp

Click Here for Payment to ArtDuino Maker Camp