The Maker Challenge — Season 1 Roundup

And so it came to pass that the first season of the Maker Challenge came to an end.  We had cogitated, debated, researched, laughed, scratched heads and learned a lot!  But, significantly, WE HAD A HULL !!!  — and we weren't afraid to butcher it!  ;)

Jim had kindly donated the hull of an old radio controlled boat for us to use as our test-bed.  Our first job was to strip back the superstructure and remove the old diesel engine.  We plan to install a one-piece deck on the whole thing and make it waterproof yet still have easy access to the gubbins.

We've come a long way from our initial (vague) brief.  Although there's still long way to go to complete STAGE 1, we're making good headway.

This drew to a close our 8 weeks together.  Marcel went off to work in the UK for the whole of September and on his return discovered that his required paperwork for working with children under the auspices of the Digital Greenhouse had expired.  Oh joy.

So, sadly, we're on hiatus until the paperwork is sorted out but the will to continue is there — not least because a box of radio gear has arrived, ready to be put to good use!  ;)  Watch this space…

The Maker Challenge: Week 5 Review

We spent a while refining our goals for the STAGES of the project that we discussed last week and started creating a shopping list of essential supplies that we will require to achieve STAGE 1

Along the way we came across these different drive units that may be of use. 

We also had a good deal of discussion about the size of boat that we need to fulfil STAGE 1.  A small, 3D printed boat was suggested however we agreed that it might not cope with rough water when we get to STAGE 2 — meaning we'll have to start again.

A hull would be researched, seeking the advise of a local model boating expert as to the size of motor and prop that we will need to achieve 5-10mph cruise speed.

The Maker Challenge: Week 4 Review

We had a guest with us today… Jim Wilkinson, designer, inventor & builder of a wind turbine powered boat.  It was such a privilege to have him join us and add his experience to our project.

We discussed at length the challenges he faced in designing 'Revelation II'.  He explained that it no longer existed but he had answered the questions that he had set out with.

We also started to set out our road map — breaking down the challenge into manageable chunks and discussing the saying: "There's no such thing as a big problem."

The Maker Challenge: Week 3 Review

Water Jets, Underwater Gliders, ArduPilot

Radio Interview — 12/7/2016

Marcel had the opportunity to speak to BBC Guernsey's Jenny Kendall-Tobias about The Maker Challenge:


You can join The Maker Challenge by filling in this form.

Radio Interview — 12/7/2016

Marcel had the opportunity to speak to BBC Guernsey's Jenny Kendall-Tobias about The Maker Challenge:


You can join The Maker Challenge by filling in this form.

The Maker Challenge, Week 01 Review

Here are some sketches and doodles that were used to communicate what we were thinking…

April 2016 Holiday: Roundup

Tear-Downs, Scuttle Robot™ Wars, LEGO Challenges, Arduino and Raspberry Pi — we did it all!

How much fun did we have?  See for yourself…

Scuttle Robot™ Wars — Workshop

April 2016 Holiday Week 2

Join Maker School for some holiday workshops — we're mixing things up a bit for week 2!

18-22nd April 2016
10am-12:30pm at The Digital Greenhouse, St Peter Port
£25 per session.  Ages 9+  Spaces limited
Contact: marcel.lenormand@gmail.com

Monday Morning Tear-Down Disassemble. Dismantle. Destroy. Discover! In a guided and thoughtful way we’ll be breaking the seal on a variety of gear and harvesting the useful parts!  Expect motors, LEDs, magnets and more. (no mains electricity!)
Tuesday:  Scuttle Robot™ Build Building Marcel’s cool vibrating robots from scratch.  We’ll be ripping apart DVD drives for their motors, adding batteries and nailbrushes then soldering and hot gluing them into action! Alert: Hands-on educational fun.
Wednesday: Scuttle Robot™ Wars Wild robotic action and battles.  If you came to the build session on Tuesday; GREAT!  If not, no problem.  We’ll put one together for you today and everyone will create their own combat body-shell. Note: take home your Scuttle Robot™
Thursday: Arduino Introduction Get your feet wet with these remarkably inexpensive little gadgets.  Write your own programs then add sensors and devices to make it do your bidding.   Absolute beginners welcome.
Friday: Raspberry Pi Introduction Blow your mind with this pocket-sized supercomputer.  Learn Python programming and connect external devices for some real-world computing. Absolute beginners welcome.

Something for the holidays? April 2016

After quite an epic hiatus, Maker School returns with some workshops for the holidays!

11-15th April 2016
10am-12:30pm at The Digital Greenhouse, St Peter Port
£25 per session.  Ages 9+  Spaces limited
Contact: marcel.lenormand@gmail.com

Monday Morning Tear-Down Disassemble.  Destroy.  Dismantle.  Discover! Taking things apart is a GREAT way to learn what goes on in the devices we use every day.  In a guided and thoughtful way we’ll be breaking the seal on a range of gear and harvesting the parts for future use. Expect motors, LEDs, circuit boards and more.  (no mains electricity!)
Wednesday:  Scuttle Robot Build Building Marcel’s cool vibrating robots from scratch.  We’ll be using motors that were harvested on Monday plus batteries and nailbrushes then soldering and hot gluing them into action! Alert: This will be fun.
Thursday: LEGO Challenge Come and play with a ton of LEGO and be challenged to do the impossible!  Expect head-scratching, brick-smashing frustration and jubilant success!
Friday: Scuttle Robot Wars™ Wild robotic action and battles.  If you came to the build session on Wednesday; GREAT!  If not, no problem.  We’ll put them together for you today and everyone will create their own combat body-shell. Note: take home your Scuttle Robot™