The Brooklyn Space Program

The Brooklyn Space Program is a group of friends (including kids) in New York City interested in scientific experiments, engineering, design, and education. And get this...they sent a balloon carrying a video camera into the upper stratosphere! Check it out in the video below or on their website.

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

We went to World Maker Faire in NYC!

It was awesome and we took video. We'll be posting videos over the next few days. Here is the very popular and carny-rific Life Size Mousetrap!

LEGO Bookbinding

Dec got a notebook with the covers made out of LEGO® base plates yesterday when his mom went to the Art Star Craft Bazaar and stopped by the Moonlight Bindery booth. We returned there this morning (to help Dec's sister reset up her booth) and stopped by Moonlight Bindery to show off what Dec had done with the notebook. He turned it into a rolling, jet powered notepad ready for his latest sketches and ideas.

Visit Moonlight Bindery's Etsy site or blog to see some of the other cool LEGO® and non-LEGO® hand-bound books they have available. Personally we are looking at the large road plate journals for possible Christmas gifts.

Here's Declan's creation.


Ready for speed!


Ready for creativity!

Gever Tulley, famed founder of the Tinkering School has expanded his TED talk "5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do" into a book that anyone looking for a little danger in their lives should check out.

Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do) is a collection of activities, projects, skills, and experiences that explore the idea that kids are safer if they know how to recognize danger and cope with it rationally.

And even if you aren't a kid this book can still serve as a mini-bucket list for your inner child, reigniting the simple joy and wonder of doing something dangerous.

Workshop cancelled.

We didn't get enough signups for the Create-A-Little, Destroy-A-Little Workshop that was scheduled for tomorrow at the Hacktory so we had to cancel. We think it might have something to do with people not wanting to spend time indoors, what with the lovely Spring weather and all. Oh well, we'll give it another try in the future. Until then it is back to the basement to take some things apart. We hope to have a new video up soon showing what is inside an old crushed-ice machine. Stay tuned!

The family that hacks together...

In association with The Hacktory in Philadelphia, Declan and I will be hosting the first ever Create-A-Little, Destroy-A-Little, Family-Fun Workshop on April 17th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Click on the link above to find out more and to register for this day of destruction and creation!

Olympic Physics

NBC and the National Science Foundation have produced “The Science of the Olympic Winter Games“, 16 short videos on the physics of Winter Olympic sports. They use a high-speed camera to capture athletes in action and then slow things down to explain the science behind the sport. It adds another dimension to watching the Olympic games when you understand the physics involved.

Hat tip to the GeekDad blog for the link.