At the TED conference last week, Gever Tulley gave a three-minute talk about his Tinkering School, a summer program that he’s created for kids. He’s created a comic-book version of his talk on tinkeringschool.com. Gever’s on to something with his comic-book format. He adds: The idea of converting a presentation to a comic book has […]
I finally put together my Newton’s Reflecting Telescope Kit by Gakken. It was a lot of fun to build and it works great. This kit would be a perfect gift for anyone getting into astronomy. By the time I was finished, I had a really good understanding of how these types of telescopes work. A […]
Next week I am going to try out the Designing Automata Kit from the Maker Shed. It’s a beautifully made kit that seems to have endless possibilities. When I opened the box, I was really surprised at just how many pieces are included in the kit. The New Designing Automata Kit is great value and […]
Several years ago, I got into playing the gothic sci-fi tabletop wargame Warhammer 40,000. I nearly bankrupted my family (and I’m only half-kidding), with all of the models, supplies, games books, terrain pieces I bought. I got to the point, like any addict, where I was “under reporting” my habit and hiding some of my […]
I spent Saturday morning with my girls making Valentine’s Day charm bracelets at the Home Ec department of the new Reform School store in Silverlake. Laura Stokes-Estrada of Charcoal Designs taught the class with aplomb.
I remember how fun it was to pass around and deliver Valentine’s Day cards in school. Now you can download The Black Apple’s adorable free “Je T’aime” Valentine’s Day cards in PDF and print them for all your friends. A fun project for the kids too!
Alessandro Volta’s was born on February 18th, 1775. He is known for several great discoveries, including the Voltaic Pile, which is an early type of battery. In the spirit of experimenting with electricity, I decided to check out the EX-150 by Gakken. I have used a lot of electronic learning kits, and this is by […]
