By Lori Stahl-Van Brackle

World Maker Faire is held annually at the New York Hall of Science in Corna Park, Queens, and I am a fan. The first time students of mine attended Maker Faire they came back with footage of 3D Printers, Arduino robots, and a jet rocket carousel. Watching the MakerBot print out the poker chip my student gave me as a gift I saw the world unfold and spread like filament on a hot platform. I was dedicated to bringing a 3D Printer into my classroom.

MOUSE, the non-profit organization that has made so much possible for my students, had gotten my MOUSE Squad tickets to Maker Faire in the first place. So, when they contacted us about a grant opportunity from MakerBot, I was ecstatic. MakerBot was donating their old Thingamatic kits to, I think ten, New York City schools with the caveat that we would have to build our 3D Printer. I threw all my wishes at that grant and when we got it, I was bouncing like a jumping bean around my computer lab. It took a monumental effort to get our Thingamatic working, we named it the Beast not because it was ferocious. In the end it took about five months to finish building but then… what to do with it?

http://www.schooltube.com/embed_force/f5a3ef6967dedc500a0e/

Brainstorming with the students who had helped us build the Beast, Jordalyn and Nikhil, we talked about what we imagined 3D Printers would make possible in the future. Housing came up and we designed a geodesic dome with printed out pieces we then lashed together with pipe cleaners. The students created a Prezi on their vision and presented it at the 2012 Emoticon and then again at the 2012 World Maker Faire, this time at the MakerBot booth with the co-founder of MakerBot, Bre Pettis.

That Maker Faire ended with my finding out another MakerBot was being donated to my classroom, a Replicator 2 this time, that would come fully assembled. I built a unit around custom chess pieces and printed out pieces on both the MakerBots until the Beast gave up the ghost. Another Replicator 2 was donated to my class so that I had two Replicator 2s and the print out of chess pieces resumed.

What can’t you make, or do at Maker Faire? What vision of the future, what world, what inventions that are trembling on the dawn of existence and imagination? Bring the children. Bring them and let them wander around, curious, eager, interested. I assigned Maker Faire as a homework to encourage as many students as I could to attend. It was an expensive homework, but I didn’t ask for paper towels, flash drives, binders, special tools for the class, just this one expense.

But it grew more and more dear. My last year as a classroom teacher I had many parents complain about the price of the faire. I can’t imagine the cost of running Maker Faire, the logistics alone must be nearly insurmountable. This year a music festival at Citifield added to the difficulties for parking for the faire. The price of attendance didn’t go up but the amount of discount tickets seemed to dwindle.

In a perfect world I would want Maker Faire free for children 12 and younger accompanied by an adult. I would want to make it possible for parents who would love to bring their children but can’t afford to take a day off of work to register their children and have them escorted by a teacher. I know not every child will want to attend, but it breaks my heart to think of that one child who would benefit, whose eyes would open wide, whose imagination would usher in the next generation of possibilities because they were introduced to this generation’s vision of the possible, of that child not being able to attend the faire, not being exposed to the 3D Village, the Dark Room, the collection of Makers from around the world sharing their vision, their journey.

So, one of the first things I did in my new role as Director of Instructional Technology for the DOE’s Manhattan Field Support Center was to organize a contest for tickets to Maker Faire. I begged at every door that might open to tickets I could give to students who might not be able to attend otherwise. Sadly, the only door that opened was at NY Sci itself. They generously provided me 15 tickets to give out in packs of five to the winners, four for families, one for teachers.

I’ve never run a contest. I’ve never organized groups of people to make something like this possible. I’ve taken full advantage of opportunities like the one I wanted to create and was so pleased when the entries poured in. The premise of the competition was for students to write about what doors making can open for them. I used a writing prompt I’d used with my students in the past based on a Peter Reynolds poster that asked that question about technology. I was given permission from Fablevision to use the poster and to alter it for my competition.

Three entries stood out as those of true makers. Tommy Wong from P.S. 199 has made lamps out of water bottles and a guitar out of a shoebox. He came to the faire with his mother and science teacher, JoEllen Schuleman, and was so excited by the technology he had a chance to explore. The rain prevented our middle school winner from attending, sadly.

However, Elijah Brown, from B.A.S.E., took the prize of tickets to Maker Faire to the next level. In his entry he spoke of his interest in creating an aquaponic system to grow food to help feed the homeless and wanting to meet Stephan Ritz from Green Bronx  Machine, an amazing Bronx educator who has brought making in the form of aquaponic farming into his classroom and to the community at large.

“As soon as I arrived I was amazed by all the cool things you guys had there, but I had work to do,” Elijah wrote of his experience. “My teacher, Jon Mannion, told us about Stephan Ritz and his booth the Green Bronx Machine. As soon as I figured out where it was that was the first place I stopped. I told them all about my project for a aquaponics greenhouse and they loved it. Within 20 minutes of talking to them they said they wanted to donate their machines to my school.”

Jon Mannion, a Computer Science teacher, is one of those teachers that brings everything he can to his classroom, stalks opportunities like Maker Faire, Games for Change and MOUSE Squad for his students. He models the power of purpose and Elijah has learned from Jon that if you pursue your interests you will amaze yourself.

Bringing more kids to Maker Faire is something I will work toward but also, bringing Maker Faire to the kids. We have plans for Make-a-thons that will give kids like Tommy and Elijah an opportunity to make something amazing. Stay tuned.

By Lori Stahl-Van Brackle, Director of Instructional Technology, Manhattan Field Support Center/NYCDOE
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