What do blacksmiths and STEM students have in common?
xanadu
Posts: 3,347
A lot, but today it was The Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum's Mini-Maker Faire. Machines from many eras combined with kids showing off STEM projects.
If that's not enough, I was teaching soldering. All ages, and types showed up for that. It was a lot of fun, a lot of exhibitors came over to solder. Those blinking LEDs...
I wasn't able to see everything. There was RC battleship wars on a pond, a bunch of drones, air rockets, battery and solar powered boards, bikes, go carts, robotic everything, blacksmiths, railroad, weaving, sewing, steam, food processing, gas, air, generators, it was endless, and shareworthy!
If that's not enough, I was teaching soldering. All ages, and types showed up for that. It was a lot of fun, a lot of exhibitors came over to solder. Those blinking LEDs...
I wasn't able to see everything. There was RC battleship wars on a pond, a bunch of drones, air rockets, battery and solar powered boards, bikes, go carts, robotic everything, blacksmiths, railroad, weaving, sewing, steam, food processing, gas, air, generators, it was endless, and shareworthy!
Comments
That's interesting, I watched the video about an hour ago, so I wonder what happened.
"This video is unavailable"
But whilst we are here....
In my "high school", in England in the 1970s, we had a metal shop with a forge. With which we could hammer out whatever wrought iron things we liked. Not only that the metal shop had industrial sized lathes and mills and shapers that we could use to make whatever. Much of this happened during the lunch breaks, with no teacher supervision.
STEM students today don't get any of that. As far as I can tell even soldering electronic circuits is out of bounds. Far too dangerous.
How are kids supposed to learn anything about reality now a days?
We had a full blown wood and metal shop in jr. high, invaluable experience for someone of that age. I remember being made an example to the class, when I ignored warnings not to polish brass on the buffing wheel that was meant for aluminum. Boy those shop teachers can be tough when you ruffle their feathers.
Wow if I had access to equipment like that now, there would be a lot more half finished projects laying around.
One slightly disturbing thing is the common everyday things from my life, now only to be found in museums.
Like the singer sewing machine that my mother had. The stationary engines that look a lot like the Petter engine my father cut wood with.
The steam traction engines like the one our neighbor had on his small holding when I was a kid.
I'm not that old damn it!
Anyway, I think it's a great thing to get kids soldering. It's not all about soldering LEDs to boards. It's a hands on experience of heat, energy, metallurgy, chemistry, electronics. All the things that make this modern world work. For most it will only go as far as soldering LEDs, for a few who knows where it leads...
Recently they added, "How did they used to make things?" (This question isn't shown anywhere, they just have the stuff there to demo.) That's where all the steam-powered stuff comes from. There's a group up here that has tracked down and restored various old steam-powered tractors. There was also a steam-powered small printing press.
Incidentally, that's where I met JonnyMac - in 2007 EFX had a booth at the Faire here in the Bay Area. Video is still up on YouTube!
How to grow and make food.
How to knit.
How to make furniture.
Build a house.
Etc, etc...
We humans should know how to do this stuff. Not just consume it like some primitive, unknowing, cargo cult culture.
Might be handy when the economy tanks.
I've been in restaurants in Beijing China where they make a show of hand-pulling the noodles in front of the customers. One was at a hot-pot restaurant that catered to locals. I think that the restaurant business is competitive, so you'll often have things going on to catch people's attention.
Never in history have I been this old before.
And it's just gonna get worse.
oh erco.
but remember, every year you live includes a free trip around the sun!
Enjoy!
Mike
Ah, yes. Happy days. Spending lunchtimes making a screwdriver (where the blade was threaded into the handle and so could not loosen screws!), not to mention ladles of molten metals as young lads experimented with bronze-age spear-heads (and wearing no PPE whatsoever).
Not to mention putting large currents through pencils and leaving charged electrolytic capacitors on the teacher's desk.
I think in those days teachers went to the pub at lunch-time.
Watching a CNC machine in a perspex box just isn't the same.
Yes, and the high school seniors had to go to a different pub so they didn't get caught
Heater, Heater, Heater, ya got it all wrong. Just buy gold for when the economy tanks. That's what all the talking heads tell us to do. Then you don't have to worry about a thing, just fugedaboudit. And hope gold has some nutritional value.