Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “National Maker Faire: Kickstarting Science Education”.
Hi, I’m Dale Dougherty we’re here at national maker, fair and i’m joined by Audrey Hale from Biloxi. Mississippi. Is that right and you just finished fifth grade? Yes, that’s right! Okay, I want you to tell me what this is balloons down to a pillbox. Well, this is actually a satellite I made for my school science: fair, okay! Well, it’s a satellite that is going up in the air using helium balloons. Is that right? Yes, that’s right! But what do we have here? Um? Oh, that’s my pickaxe board, which, with all the components on it it’s holding together all the components and yeah pretty much so tell me.
How did you come upon this project doing this project? Well, um? It all started when I was pretty much looking through my mom’s make magazine. She has a bunch of them and I was looking for something to do for my school science, fair project and I came across two satellite. I love space science, so I decided I wanted to do this, but of course it was not cheap, so I decided well. I asked my mom and she said it’s not in the budget. She said it’s a little bit too expensive for us to go out and buy the parts right and what did it? What did you feel at that point? Well, I felt kind of sad, but then I figured out well, I could do is suck.
I could fund it with Kickstarter, so I asked her and she said yes, so I was really really happy about that. So tell me you, so you went and put up your science fair project proposal on Kickstarter. Yes, um, i put it up on a video and it was really really fun.
Ok, so did people contribute? Yes, they got WAY WAY. Overfunded. The goal was 150 and i got about 400, something you got four hundred dollars on kik started to build your project and then you were able to buy the parts. Yes, I’m really happy. I got to buy. What did you promise your backers on Kickstarter um? I promised them the pictures i got from the aerial photos, I mean the aerial satellite and I them the ibook. I would make um and that was pretty much it and this satellite has a name. Doesn’T it? Yes, it’s called the little aerial satellite, and so what do you think this means for you and for other young makers out there? Well, this means that I’m trying well I’m trying to inspire other kids like me to well I’m trying to show everyone that science is for everybody, not just some people, I’m gon na we’re gon na break and talk to your mom and dad for a minute Audrey And I are joined by Audrey’s parents, this is Laurel hail and this is joe hill. Let’S start with Jojo. What do you do? I teach network operations for the Air Force for the Air Force and, and I first learned about Audrey through a note that you sent me, I believe – and you told me what happened and talk a little bit.
You know when she first came to you and said I want to do this project in the magazine and – and I want some money to do it – I told her – it wasn’t in the budget and um. Then she had she was like. Oh so she did. This research and she googled it and found out about Kickstarter and so she’s. Like can I do Kickstarter? I was thinking okay.
Well, I thought it might be a way for her to learn that, like sometimes even when you really want something like the answer can still be no or maybe some of our large family would maybe help, but it was still like, maybe not turn out. I didn’t you know, I didn’t want to just know, but I thought we could try it and she might learn that lesson anyway. So you were surprised by the result. We were blown away. There was somebody who funded it from Germany.
There was somebody just all over the world, it was, it was amazing, more strangers than family funded it great. Well, she went on to exhibit the science fair how’d. She do. She won at her school, she won at Regionals and she also won the special award. I forgot to ask you that what you think of winning all those Awards – I am so happy and blown away, that’s great, and at you know it’s really nice at the program, the White House yesterday you thank your parents both for helping you out with this. Did being your first backers really yeah and tell me a little about you, you wouldn’t tell me what you’re just talking about you know like when you were in school. Do you know, like you, identify a bit with the maker stuff yourself right? I really do um. I grew up on an IEP in special education, and traditional school did not fit well for me, and I did not do well in it, and so for the maker movement to come in.
I was always really really excited about it, because it wasn’t just people with degrees and people with you know, really fancy offices. It was just anyone – and I remember one of the first projects I loved was that remote control lawnmower – and it was just amazing that somebody had just built this in their backyard and Joe – would actually subscribed to make for my birthday and we’re military families. So we move all the time, so we were unpacking and that’s how she found that old. Make magazine we’re putting it back on the shelf.
That’S great! It’S such a great story. That’S so glad you know you do a great job to help her give her these opportunity helped her a lot as well of this. Well, I would I would. I would say that I taught her how to solder yeah and then taught her had a program, and then she just kind of surpassed everything that I expected her to actually do it on her own.
Doesn’T she she does well, I I just want to really so glad to have the Hale family here at maker faire and joining here in the make booth, and it really makes me very happy to think that you know group of us who create a magazine have An impact on someone like you, you know even it’s an old issue that you find when you’re unpacking so and it helps to sort of bring people into this community. I’M particularly fifth-graders. It’S awesome. So thank you all for being here.
Thank you very much. Bye, .