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What do blacksmiths and STEM students have in common? — Parallax Forums

What do blacksmiths and STEM students have in common?

xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
edited 2017-06-18 08:01 in General Discussion
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!

Comments

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    Sure sounds like "Must see TV", but the video is unavailable.

  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    erco wrote: »
    Sure sounds like "Must see TV", but the video is unavailable.

    That's interesting, I watched the video about an hour ago, so I wonder what happened.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    Here in Mountain View:

    "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?


  • Heater. wrote: »
    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.


    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. :lol:
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    Video works now, thanks. Awesome!
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2017-06-19 06:21
    Video now works. Wow, that looks like one fabulous event. Wish I could have been there.

    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.

    simdif_0x1a6d10f0.jpg?1478520932

    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...




  • They keep expanding what's at a Maker Faire. Originally it was mostly electronics, robotics, 3D printing, etc. Then they added the food section and one of my favorites was when the SF Bay Area fair had a chef from a local Chinese noodle restaurant demonstrate how he hand-pulled noodles. It was funny, this is something he's done every day for years, and people were really impressed and fascinated; he was a bit bemused by the reaction. But then he's usually doing it in the back of his place at 6am, not at a table in front of a crowd with a translator on microphone.

    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!
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    It's a maker faire. Why not?

    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 missed this one as we're in the middle of a heat wave and I just didn't want to be traipsing around the back-40 of Vista all afternoon with the crowds this event now attracts. I tend to prefer the antique aspect of the Antique Gas & Steam Engine exhibits anyway. They'll have that next weekend, and hopefully it'll be a little cooler.
  • Jeff Haas wrote: »
    ...one of my favorites was when the SF Bay Area fair had a chef from a local Chinese noodle restaurant demonstrate how he hand-pulled noodles. It was funny, this is something he's done every day for years, and people were really impressed and fascinated; he was a bit bemused by the reaction. But then he's usually doing it in the back of his place at 6am, not at a table in front of a crowd with a translator on microphone.

    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.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    Heater. wrote: »
    I'm not that old damn it!

    Never in history have I been this old before.

    And it's just gonna get worse.

  • erco wrote: »
    Heater. wrote: »
    I'm not that old damn it!

    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
  • Heater. wrote: »
    Here in Mountain View:

    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.

    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.
  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,069
    Hugh wrote: »
    Heater. wrote: »
    Here in Mountain View:

    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.

    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. wrote: »
    It's a maker faire. Why not?

    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.


    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.
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