Reading List
Reading List
This is a listing of my favorite books for a Fab Lab teacher - covering projects for Arduino, 3D printing, Tinkering/Inventing, or the Maker Movement.
This is a listing of my favorite books for a Fab Lab teacher - covering projects for Arduino, 3D printing, Tinkering/Inventing, or the Maker Movement.
Useful links include reference sites and favorites of Mr. Moss
How to Make Almost Anything - article in Foreign Affairs by Neil Gershenfeld, MIT
A new digital revolution is coming, this time in fabrication. It draws on the same insights that led to the earlier digitizations of communication and computation, but now what is being programmed is the physical world rather than the virtual one. Digital fabrication will allow individuals to design and produce tangible objects on demand, wherever and whenever they need them. Widespread access to these technologies will challenge traditional models of business, aid, and education.
3-minute animated tutorial using Videoscribe that gives an introduction to Design-Thinking
Unleash Your Creativity in a Fab Lab - TED TALK by Neil Gershenfeld, MIT
MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld talks about his Fab Lab -- a low-cost lab that lets people build things they need using digital and analog tools. It's a simple idea with powerful results.
The Art of Tinkering by Karen Wilkinson and Mike Petrich
150+ makers share their stories behind beautiful, bold work. Inspiring and innovative examples of world-class tinkerers are highlighted as the world's best makers working at the intersection of art, science and technology.
Homero Cantu and Ben Roche - Creative Cooking
TED talk featuring two Chicago fusion chefs; stimulates creativity
Using technology - 3D printers, laser cutters and Arduino programable microcontrollers - to make, repair or customize things. This democratizes engineering, design and computer science. Children learn by building and making. When these technologies are applied to a maker space, learning soars.
Web Site about an eight year old boy's cardboard arcade in an East LA auto parts store, and what happened after a movie maker released a video about his arcade
Tinkering - Kids Learn by Making Stuff (Second Edition) by Curt Gabrielson
This book shows you how to make magnetic toys that dance, catapults and table-top games, musical instruments and electronic gadgets
NY Times Article about waiting in queues
Psychology of waiting - what makes waiting seem longer (or shorter), and why supermarkets sell impulse buys at checkout counters and why Disney designs serpentine lines and exaggerates wait times
Arduino Workshop - a Hands-On Workshop with 65 Projects by John Boxall
A hands-on introduction with 65 projects. Arduino Workshop will teach your the tricks and design principles of a master programmer
Activities and getting started training for Turtle Art - a Logo-inspired graphical drawing package based on visual programming elements; easy entry point for beginnings to learn programming and art
Thorough introduction to Arduino gives you lots of ideas for projects and helps you work with them right away
Convert just about anything to anything else. Over 5,000 units, and 50,000 conversions
13 Technology Projects using Scratch, Makey-Makey, Turtle Art, Lego WeDo, and Turtle Art. The projects, while challenging, have been successfully tested with K-6 makers.
Bloomberg/Business Week Currency Converter
Foreign Exchange Rates and Currency Converter
Amazing Rubber Band Cars - Easy-to-Build Wind-Up Racers, Models, and Toys by Mike Rigsby
Easy-to-build cardboard race cars powered by rubber bands; the design for long distance rubber band and pulley is one of the laser cutter projects.
Brent Bushnell and Eric Gradman, co-founders of LA-based Two Bit Circus, energize their audience with the STEAM Carnival, a way to make entertainment more enriching and education more fun.
Doc Fizzix Mousetrap Racers: The Complete Builder's Manual by Alden Balmer
In this guide written by a Teacher-of-the-Year winner, your kids will learn how to construct race cars from ordinary, affordable household materials, while learning the science behind how they work, in language easy enough for a 7th grader to understand.
MIT Home Page and links for Fab Lab
Make: 3D Printing; The Essential Guide to 3D Printers compiled by Anna Kaziunas France
Tutorials cover design software for creating 3D objects; includes a unique showcase of 3D printed works from jewelry, medicine and robotics
Top Web Sites for Makers and Creators
Web Sites and Apps selected by Common Sense Education's Web Site - a site for teacher resources
Getting Started with MakerBot by Bre Pettis, Anna Kaziunas France, and Jay Shergill
Hands-on book shows you how to make a wide variety of physical objects with a MakerBot 3D Printer
17 Best DIY Gadget Projects of 2013
Treehugger is a web site, blog, and newsletter committed to sustainability - these are very clever DIY project ideas for any tinkerer
30 Arduino Projects for the Evil Genius (2nd Edition) by Simon Monk
Do-it-yourself guide shows you how to program and build fascinating Arduino projects with step-by-step instructions and helpful illustrations
How the Wolves Changed Yellowstone Park
4-minute video detailing changes in habitat and environment of Yellowstone Park after wolves were eradicated...then re-introduced 15 years later. Great primer on complexity of nature and need for humility in science
350 pages of diagrams, step-by-step descriptions and resources for a Stirling Engine (heat to rotational shaft work); wind-powered generator, and other very challenging Do-It-Yourself Projects
8th grader invents low cost braille printer
8th grader develops a low cost braille printer our of lego robotics parts; mother has to be CEO of his new company since he is too young; Intel invests in his invention
This book contains the best projects and articles from the magazine. Find out what keeps Makers coming back to Make: with this assortment of DIY projects and articles selected by Make:'s editors.
What's New in 3D Printing - Avi Reichental
Avi Reichental is a maker of things. The difference is, now he can use 3D printers to make almost anything, out of almost any material. Reichental tours us through the possibilities of 3D printing, for everything from printed candy to highly custom sneakers.
Using Inkscape with Laser Cutters
Explains why you can not print Inkscapes' SVG files directly to a laser cutter, and why Inkscape's use of pixels as an abstract measure of length requires scaling to get exact dimensions for your laser-cut objects
Fiorenzo Omenetto TED TALK - reinventing silk
Reverse engineering silk to core material that is applied for drug delivery, optics, tissue implants, tissue replacement - inspiring TED TALK on creativity and design
Video - Design Thinking Process for LS Rocket Launch
Video details how a lower school science class was introduced to design-thinking; result was big improvement over following a cookie-cutter script for a bottle rockets project
You Tube Video of VW Phaeton plant in Dresden, Germany
Video showing modern robotic VW auto factory with glass walls, wood floors, and wireless EM induction power to robots
You Tube Video of Tesla Robotic Manufacturing
Video showing modern robotic Tesla manufacturing assembly
Buck Institute for Education - nonprofit organization promotes project-based learning to improve 21st century teaching and learning
Edutopia - George Lucas Educational Foundation promotes project-based learning with extensive library of videos, articles, blogs and classroom ready materials
Reinventing Project-Based Learning - blog shares project-based learning resources and tools