Category: Type

Cue Robot – August 1; Deconstruction Night – August 8

Our last two Discovery Lab sessions are August 1 and August 8.

The special workshop on August 1 will explore the Cue Robot and its capabilities. These impressive characters can be coded using a Scratch-like interface and come with a variety of attachments for special missions.

Our final night we are looking to tear into a variety of electronics and appliances to see what is inside.

August 8 we cap the summer off by opening things up to look inside. We’ll have old computers, video players,small appliances, and whatever else we can get our hands on to pull apart and poke around inside. We will provide as many tools as we can get our hands on, but if you’d like to bring a few toolswith you (screwdrivers, pliers, …) that would be welcome. Make sure they are well-labelled and easily identifiable.

Discovery Fair Saturday August 3

What does a summer of Discovery look like? Come check out the Discovery Fair Saturday August 3 from 10AM to 1PM in the lobby of Clippinger Labs on the Athens Campus of Ohio University. There will be a combination of hallway activities and projects spanning the range of 3D printers, Maker Cart Constructions, Arduinos, Cardboard construction and engineering and anything else we’re inspired to bring. There will be a special appearance of the WOUB Learning Lab and their robotic friends. The event is supported by the Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery, WOUB Learning Lab, State Farm (Discovery Lab materials) and the Department of Physics and Astronomy. If you are interested in showing off your latest or favorite project, contact Mark Lucas at lucasm@ohio.edu. We’d love to see what everyone is doing!

Parking (https://www.ohio.edu/athens/parking): The large lots in front of Clippinger (83 and 84) no longer exist (though it is cool to look at the new Chemistry Building going up!) Parking is available in Lots 86 and 88 directly behind the Clipping and in the Lots 87 and 93 by Ping (meters are 24 hours-7days a week but unmetered lots are open on Saturday – just read signs carefully). Lot 134 by Walter Hall is also an option.

Programming Night – June 20, 2019

Thursday June 20 we will have a focus on programming in addition to our standard stations (3D printing, doodle pens, Maker Cart, …). Those of you who submitted 3D print jobs June 13 can pick them up on the 20th.

We will have a workshop on programming with Scratch, a graphical programming created by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab (I still love the name and the idea that you can get a PhD from this group!). Scratch provides a great entry path into programming, but is also capable of quite sophisticated work. The general block-programming format has been replicated by a lot of different groups.

For those of you new to Scratch, we will provide an introduction and several challenges to try out in Scratch. For those who have already spent some time with Scratch on their own or in school, we will have available Cue Robots (which can use a Scratch-like variant or javascript for programming) and Micro:bits, which are an Arduino like microcontroller which can naturally interface with Scratch 3. (Micro:bits can also be block programmed independently or programmed in MicroPython.)

We will have a some “communal” scratch accounts available for use, but if you’d like to save and share programs under your own space, you can head to scratch.mit.edu with your parents and create your own account.

Getting Ready for Summer 2019!

Plans are shaping up for Summer 2019! We are excited to officially become Discovery Lab as we become a part of the programming for the Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery. We will continue to meet in the basement of Clippinger (Room 036) on Thursday evenings from 6-8PM with possible special events on Tuesdays and/or Saturdays.

We will kick off on June 6 and go until August 8 (with plans to take Thursday, July 4th off). And save Saturday August 3 for the Second Annual Discovery Fair, a chance to show off things you’ve done during the summer.

For those new to AthensMakers/Discovery Lab, we strive to create an environment where kids 6th grade through high school can gather to explore a wide range of STEAM-based (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) activities. You can wander the web site to see what kinds of things we have done in the past. They include things like 3-D printing, Arduino Microcontrollers, construction projects with the Maker Cart, green-screen and stop motion videography, and more! This year we intend to run a combination of open exploration space in parallel with workshops where those who chose can learn new skills in a guided environment.

At this time the programming is free, though there may be some special workshops advertised that require a special fee to help pay for materials the students take with them.

And as always we encourage parents to hang out and learn alongside their kids!

Arduino Day Celebration – Saturday March 16

Come Celebrate World Arduino Day! The event will be held Saturday March 16 from 1-4PM in Clippinger Lab Room 035 on the Athens Campus of Ohio University. Co-sponsored by the Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery, the Ohio University Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Athens Makers (now Discovery Lab), we’ll gather for a time of workshops and sharing of sample projects for beginners and advanced users alike. Check out the pin at the Official Arduino Day website: https://day.arduino.cc/

The event is free and open to the public. Everyone is welcome, though the work will be most appropriate for ages 11 through adult. Laptops and Arduinos will be available for people to borrow for the workshop time.

A variety of sample projects will be made available in the space. Beginner workshops will be available starting at 1, 2, and 3. Space will also be provided for those who would like to bring projects, either completed or in progress, to share with others in the community.

No registration is required, but if you have any questions or know in advance you intend to come, please feel free to contact Mark Lucas at lucasm@ohio.edu.

If you are coming from out of town, the best route is to take US-50/33 to the 682 exit south of campus. At the roundabout head North over the Richland Avenue bridge towards the Stadium. At the first intersection turn right onto South Green Drive. Clippinger is on the left just past the pond. Parking is available around the area. Do NOT PAY for parking. If you go past Clippinger, the lot on the right should have free parking as long as you don’t park in a metered spot. The best entrance will be the Southwest corner of Clippinger right off of South Green Drive. Head downstairs and you will find the event rooms.

 

 

Thursday June 28

Last week we had the 360 degree camera and the Raspberry Pi added to the mix of activities. I got to check out the 360 degee camera, and it’s cool. Definitely something you want to check out Thursday during a break from your other projects!

As for the Raspberry Pi, Jeff and some of the participants began exploring the world of machine learning. They trained an artificial intelligence software running on a Raspberry Pi microcomputer to detect a hands-in-the-air gesture in a live video feed. Once the software learned their input they used a simple python script to trigger a cheering sound each time their gesture was recognized in the video feed!

We also need someone who wants to learn how to solder to help put together a couple of “persistence of vision” kits.

In addition to the stations above, we will have the the normal stations available:

  • Green screen movie making
  • Arduino microcontrollers
  • Maker cart (sail cars, fan cars, judobots, electric cars, wind turbines and more)
  • 3D Printing and 3D Design
  • Snap Circuits
  • Makey Makeys
  • Programming with Scratch
  • Cardboard Construction
  • Notebook Construction

If you have not made a notebook, consider bringing a notebook from home to keep track of your accomplishments and plans.

Summer 2018! Starting Thursday June 7

Summer 2018 Athens Makers is starting Thursday June 7 from 6-8PM, and we will again meet in the basement of Clippinger Labs (Room 036) on the campus of Ohio University. We currently plan to run every Thursday from 6-8PM with the possibility of a few other special events throughout the summer.

As with other summers, there is no registration required and there is no fee. This is a completely volunteer operation, and we operate on a shoestring with some equipment support from the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery. Contact Dr. Mark Lucas (lucasm at ohio.edu) to receive periodic mailings about AthensMakers activities as well as related activities that may be of interest.

This summer we’re looking to try something a little different and more open-ended. Instead of a single topic each night, there will be a lot of  different options are available each night. This allows the participants to follow their interests better and build up their skill base at their own pace.

As we prepare for the first night, we are looking to have stations that include:

  • Green screen movie making
  • Arduino microcontrollers
  • Maker cart (sail cars, fan cars, judobots and more)
  • 3D Printing and 3D Design
  • Snap Circuits
  • Makey Makeys

As we progress through the summer, are looking at adding such options as:

  • Raspberry pi
  • Google Voice recognition
  • Audacity Sound Recording and editing
  • 360 degree photography
  • Stop Motion movie making
  • And  a lot more.

We are also tentatively looking at having a “Discovery Fair” Saturday August 4. This would be a chance for participants and other community member to bring out their projects and show them off! More details to come.