I went to the City of Stem + LA Maker Faire last Saturday at LA State Historic Park, which is organized by the LA Public Library and Columbia Science Center in Downey. The event was entirely outdoors and the weather co-operated. I’ll share a few of the highlights.
Invention Convention
I had a call a few weeks ago with Brenda Payne, President of the California Invention Convention and she told me about their program — to help students invent creative solutions to problems.
A former teacher and principal who doesn’t know how to retire, Brenda had originally worked with a predecessor organization called Invent America. She said that the key to teaching invention is to have “students come up with problems in their own lives.” As a result of these programs, she said “every student was able to identify a problem and invent some solution to it.”
I was happy to see a tent for California Invention Convention at the City of STEM + LA Maker Faire last Saturday.
Inside the tent were students explaining their projects with poster boards. Eva Mitnick, a lead organizer of the event, said she “was pleasantly surprised to see how many Faire-goers engaged with these young inventors.”
On this Saturday, April 13, Brenda will be hosting the California Invention Convention for Northern/Central California at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. In early June, the National Invention Convention will be held at the Henry Ford Museum at Dearborn, MI.
Gatorade Batteries
Theodore Donnell, a Chemistry professor at Pasadena Community College, did a demonstration showing that you can power a light bulb with Gatorade as well as lime soda. It was based on the Build a Battery Workshop - Exploring Electrolytes from American Chemical Society. The instructions say: “to test different drinks, those that taste sour and/or say that they contain electrolytes tend to work best.”
AniMakerspaces
Animatronics legend Garner Holt received a STEM award from Ben Dickow, Executive Director of the Columbia Science Center in Downey, CA. His company, Garner Holt Productions, is the leader in creating animatronics for theme parks like Disneyland.
Holt said that his career has been “a dream come true.” His parents had wanted him to become a veterinarian. “I still remember the day my parents took me to Disneyland when I was about 14. On the way home, I told Mom and Dad that I want to build the things at Disneyland.” He focused on that goal. “I’ve been able to build theme park projects in 36 countries and a lot of the things that you see here in LA at Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios.”
Holt has established the Garner Holt Education through Imagination organization to engage more students in technology and creativity and specifically animatronics. Their “AniMakerspaces” program offers tools, materials and project curriculum for primary, middle and high schools. Their website says: “We can help create your very own, one-of-a-kind imagination factory!”
Lowriders
I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you one of the colorful lowrider cars that were on display. “They are the ultimate Makers, with strong ties to LA,” said Eva Resnick.
.They also had a display of model lowriders, which I thought would be cool student projects.
Hands-on Activities
There were plenty of hands-on activities for kids, including power tools.
Octavia Lab
The Octavia Lab at the LA Public Library downtown is their makerspace and below are two of the team members who work there.
The City of STEM+LA Maker Faire in its second year as a combined event had an estimated 25,000 attendees and 197 exhibitor booths. There was a lot going on everywhere. Thanks especially to the organizers, staff and the volunteers.