were lost in the making of this article), here’s my
post-game analysis:
•
Creativity inspires creativity. Between the
guest lecturers, the mentors, and the other
participants, this program showed me that
the Make: community is filled to the brim with
creative people and wildly interesting ideas. I
also found that it doesn’t take much for that
creativity to rub off.
•
Practice is important. No matter how skilled
or talented a maker might be, they’re not going
to build R2-D2 on their first try. Becoming
proficient in making is no different than
learning any other skill; with enough time and
practice, you can — and will — improve.
•
There are different positions to play on and
off the field. No team wins with only pitchers
or batters. I learned this during my first group
project; I may not have been the best maker
partner, but I did a great job in making our
hard work look presentable. I doubt I’ll be at
a future Maker Faire as an exhibitor, but I can
always see myself in the audience (or even with
a press pass).
•
Learning for the sake of learning is actually
really useful. There are no grades, no tests,
no GPA to worry about, it’s just you and the
materials you need. This type of learning is
also super flexible about interests, dislikes, and
even who can participate. One of the people
in the Arduino Deep Dive looked as old as my
grandfather. That’s really inspiring.
•
Striking out happens way more than hitting a
home run. Whether it’s a simple error (making
a mistake in one line of code) or something
that’s a bit more significant (accidentally
leaving your heater too close to your Petri dish
and melting the agar and growing bacteria),
projects usually go through several versions.
But even if you only have a 30% success rate,
that’s still a phenomenal batting average.
And that’s the story of how a non-maker took
part in an experimental making crash course.
Even though I struck out more often than not, I’d
still call it a success. I may not become the next
breakout inventor who creates exactly what the
world needs, but at least I got a new perspective
on what those geniuses go through.
See more on the projects from all the
participants of the inaugural Make:
Learning Labs and get more information
on how to participate at learn.make.co.
23
make.co
More projects from the
inaugural Make: Learning Labs
learn.make.co
The Mr. Night Costume
Elizabeth Swartz
Illuminated costume designed to get younger
children interested in STEM. Built-in lights activate
kids’ imaginations as a gateway into astronomy and
other subjects.
SOS WMN
Dafne Isadora Cruz Medina,
Rodrigo Moreno Oaxaca, and Brian Mustafa
Easy-to-use security device designed to protect
women from gender-based crime and violence
in public. Sends GPS location and pictures of the
situation to emergency contacts when triggered.
Customizable Pocket AAC
Mia Farraday and Regina Alatorre Nava
A low-cost, open source augmentative and
alternative communication (AAC) device for
autistic individuals.
Backpack Chair
Kate Southern, Gabriela Lopez, and
Saul Najera Aguirre
Portable high chair with massaging function, to help
combat chronic pain in adults.
Corrosion Detector
Jannet Galva Acosta and Yolotzin Oreday Osorio
Drone-based service that takes photographs of
structures, then analyzes them with machine
learning to identify their level of danger.
Logo Project
Ferren Kosciolek
Learning Labs needed a logo that could capture
the spirit of the program, and badges for completing
Deep Dives. This project created digital designs for
Learning Labs.
M78_020-23_LearningLabs_F1.indd 23M78_020-23_LearningLabs_F1.indd 23 7/12/21 12:22 PM7/12/21 12:22 PM
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