Flickr:SparkFunElectronics
A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of working for O’Reilly Media as the editor-in-chief of Craft Magazine. Even before I’d started working there, I attended the first two Maker Faire events, and was amazed by what I saw: part county fair, part science fair, part craft fair, a huge gathering of folks who were brought together with the simple connection of their love of making things. As a part of the staff, I got to work on two Maker Faires and saw first-hand the incredible amount of thought, energy, and hard work that goes into putting on such a large-scale event.
Last week, the event debuted in New York as World Maker Faire. It was always the vision of Dale Dougherty, who founded Maker Media and the Maker Faire, to incorporate education into the world of science, technology, and innovation. In conjunction with that, Dougherty published the following talk given by Thomas Kalil, the Deputy Director for Policy for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Among other points he makes, Kalil talks about the importance of communication between makers, innovators, and tinkerers, and the STEM education communities.
Innovation, Education and Makers
Thomas Kalil: What would education look like after a Maker make-over?
by Dale Dougherty
On the Monday following Maker Faire New York, the National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored a workshop titled “Innovation, Education and the Maker Movement.” It was organized by Margaret Honey of the New York Hall of Science, Thomas Kalil of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and myself. I asked Tom if we could publish his talk, which opened the workshop. Continue reading