For John Gluck, an 8-year old with muscular dystrophy who loves to read, getting books off his shelf has been a challenge. But in 2016, he participated in a makeathon in Virginia organized by Bo Pollett and Israel-based Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM). Along with an engineering student and a healthcare designer, John developed a motorized shelf for his bookcase that makes it easier for him to reach his favorite books. TOM puts on 36-hour “makeathons” around the world aimed at developing assistive technologies like the one they designed with John.
Their story is just one of many that highlight the ways in which makers are broadening their horizons, finding solutions for individuals and communities.
This year, Maker Faire Bay Area in San Mateo, CA will include the inaugural MAKE: IMPACT, a special section dedicated to highlighting incredible projects, prototypes, and solutions from makers working on a wide variety of community-based and global challenges. We will be co-curating this area, in collaboration with Maker Media and companies and nonprofits like Communitere International.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell with Google Hangouts On-Air is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
