You can do it! Anyone can build and create; all you need is a little initiative, teamwork and a DIY attitude. Put on your thinking cap and put your problem-solving skills to the test in Instructables®: Made in Your Mind, a new hands-on, do-it-yourself exhibit debuting May 26 – Nov. 4, 2012 at the Children's Museum of Houston (CMH). From a duct tape wallet to an electric instrumented controlled with light, creating your own projects is fun as long as you have a maker attitude!
"The maker attitude is the inherent need to create your own projects based on personal desires. Instead of spending money on something already made, a maker creates something new or modifies something existing that meets their needs. Many kids these days are not being provided with enough opportunities to problem solve their way through projects and learn new skills, all of which are essential to develop the maker attitude," said Director of Educational Technology and Exhibit Development, Keith Ostfeld. "We want to take them back to basics and show them that with a little time and patience, anyone can make something fun and interesting."
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Made in Your Mindstrives to instill the importance of engineering and perseverance in kids through a hands-on, step-by-step process based on the concept of the Instructables® website (www.instructables.com). Branded the "world's largest show and tell," Instructables® is a web-based platform where people share what they created and how they created it, as well as learn from and collaborate with others. CMH was given the green light by Instructables® to create an exhibit that would capture the website's objectives by presenting families adaptations of many of the projects that can be found on the website along with all the materials necessary to complete each project.
Made in Your Mind demonstrates that, with critical thinking and communication, you can do anything to which you set your mind. Through an ever-cycling menagerie of activities such as a mini-air cannon and pocket flashlights you can make and you can do!
"Experience builds knowledge and skills," said Ostfeld. "With the Made In Your Mind exhibit, we provide a place for kids to practice and learn in a fun, safe setting. After all, what's ‘made in your mind' can be made reality so long as you have the right knowledge, skills, and attitude."
WHAT WE HAVE IN MIND FOR YOU:
· As you enter Made in Your Mind, a Menu Board will provide the selection 8 activities for that week. Activity options will span the age and ability levels of the children who visit the Museum. The activities will be rotated on a regular basis so families who visit multiple times can do different projects.
· Once the project has been selected, grab a tub and pick up the materials for the project at the Supply Bins. .
· After collecting all the supplies you need, take the supplies over to the Project Table and start building away! Each Project Table provides a workspace, all tools needed to complete the project, and video instructions to help with the building of each project.
· After building your creation, race on over to the Testing Zone where to put the project to the test! This space will provide a place test the project and consider the changes, adaptations, and tweaks necessary to make it awesome! Remember: practice makes perfect!
There will be six sets of eight activities which will rotate throughout Made in Your Mind. Seventy-five percent of all activities are free. Paid activities are less than $5 and all costs cover the cost of more expensive materials. Finally, don't forget: any project you make, you can take home with you!
ABOUT CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF HOUSTON
America's No. 1 Children's Museum" by Parents Magazine, winner of Nickelodeon Parents' Picks "Best Museum in Houston 2009 & 2010," Click2Houston's "Best Museum 2010," the Children's Museum of Houston is a Citysearch.com's nationwide 5-star children's museum. It is dedicated to transforming communities through innovative, child-centered learning with a vision to spark a passion for lifelong learning in all children. Founded in 1980 and housed in a whimsical building designed by internationally acclaimed architect Robert Venturi, the Children's Museum of Houston offers a multitude of innovative exhibits and bilingual learning programs for kids ages birth to 12 years. The Museum serves more than 1,100,000 people annuallyand operates as a 501(c)(3) under the direction of a Board of Directors. It is located at 1500 Binz in Houston's Museum District. Admission is $9 per person and $8 for seniors 65 years and older and for members of the military. Children under one and Museum Members receive free admission.
Free Family Nights are offered Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. courtesy of the Houston Endowment, the Wortham Foundation, Inc. and the John P. McGovern Foundation. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from Noon to 6 p.m. The Museum is open at 9 a.m. on the Second Saturday of every month for Museum Members. The Museum is closed Mondays but open on Federal Holidays, during Houston Independent School District's Spring Break and during the summer months from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, please visit www.cmhouston.org or call (713) 522-1138. The Children's Museum of Houston is A Playground for Your Mind™ Can your mind come out to play?™
ABOUT INSTRUCTABLES®
Instructables® is a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with others. The seeds of Instructables® germinated at the MIT Media Lab as the future founders of Squid Labs built places to share their projects and help others.