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The first in our series of college prep maker camps. Learn to tell time by making an electronic alarm clock.

Start Date: Sunday, Jul 12, 2020 | 2:00 pm

Step one for any successful day is to wake up. The trouble is that waking up is hard. The inability to track time in one's sleep and the reluctance to get out of bed has challenged humanity for a very long time. The ancient Greeks solved this problem by inventing hydraulic alarm clocks, a feat that very few of us would have the ingenuity to consider. Today we rely on electrons to count the passing of time, and at the cost of $10 for an alarm clock, it must not be very difficult to make, right?

Students in this camp are going to make their own Raspberry Pi powered alarm clock. One that can be set using analog buttons or through a web interface, beautifully enclosed in your own 3D printed housing, and interfaced with the web, able to wake you up at a time synchronized by your Google calendar to an alarm of your choosing. What would be more likely to wake you up, a randomized poetry reading, or your favorite Spotify playlist? When you build your own alarm clock, it doesn't just have to wake you up, it could help put you to sleep as well. Wire a pressure sensor to your pillow, and at the appropriate time use it to play soothing music at a gradually decreasing volume, or maybe you'd rather be proposed a random philosophical question to ponder as you doze off.

By making this clock, you'll gain first hand experience in:

Electronic components
Raspberry Pi computers
Through-hole and surface mount soldering
Python programming
Flask API
Fundamentals of computation
The Linux command line
3D modeling
3D printing

This camp session is 5 days and 6 nights long and is led by two highly experienced maker educators at Vector Space. An RA will accompany students before and after Vector Space hours, and a local guide will lead students through cultural experiences at various Lynchburg events and locations.

General Schedule

Students arrive on campus Sunday, July 12th. Check-in begins at 2pm, and a welcome dinner will take place that evening, where students will meet their fellow campers, RA, instructors, and cultural guide. For Monday through Friday, the general schedule is as follows.

7:00 - 8:30       Wake-Up and Breakfast
8:45 - 9:00       Bus to Vector Space
9:00 - 11:45       Vector Space program
11:45 - 12:30       Lunch and guest speaker
12:30 - 4:30       Vector Space program
4:30 - 4:45       Return to campus
4:45 - 6:00       Relaxation & Personal Time
6:00 - 7:00       Dinner
7:00 - 9:00       Evening Activity
9:00 - 9:30       Final Check-in
9:30 - 7:00       Room Curfew

Students will have an opportunity to present their work to the public at the conclusion of camp. Check out is Saturday morning after breakfast.

Eligibility

This camp is for rising college freshmen throughout the country.

Some experience with computer programming is expected, but far more important is your work ethic and ability to work independently. Prior technical knowledge is not expected or required; instructors will lead students through lessons to be followed by independant application of skills learned.

Registration

The tuition fee for this program covers housing, all meals, the course, supplies, and cultural activities from Sunday evening through Saturday morning. Airfare, transportation to and from the airport, meals purchased outside the program, and personal shopping are not included in this cost.

Student registration is processed on a first-come, first-served basis and guaranteed upon final payment. Payments are refundable until April 1st, 2020, after which they become non-refundable.

Tuition is $1100 through March 31st. Price increases to $1250 on April 1st. Payments are made via credit card under the Registration tab.

Learn More

We have written a high-level post about our Summer 2020 Maker Camps here. This post includes details about the camp host, Vector Space, as well as our boarding partner and the city of Lynchburg, VA.

For details about curriculum and logistics (room and board, transporation, etc.) see our Makerveristy FAQ page.

For a deep dive into our educational philosophy and beliefs, click here.

Our Sponsor

This program is generously funded by Cognizant's Making the Future program, which seeks to inspire young learners to pursue science, technology, engineering and math disciplines by creating fun, hands-on learning opportunities.

Instructors

Adam Spontarelli

Adam began his career as a Mechanical Engineer in the Nuclear Industry, modeling the flow of fluid and heat through pipes and debris, around baffles and impellers, across differing liquids, gasses, and solids. If the laws of Thermodynamics seemed to misbehave and joules of energy went missing, Adam helped find them.

After nearly a decade in the field, he left his desk job to pursue his passion for science, engineering, and making by founding Vector Space. Adam has built coffee roasters, drones, thermally conductive LED boards, arcade machines, childrens' bikes, robotic painting pianos, smart thermostats, and everything in between. He's fascinated by the way things works, and the more technical it gets, the better.

The only thing he enjoys as much as making things is teaching others to make things. As the Director of Education, Adam is responsible for crafting educational programming that excites and engages students. He incorporates the compelling work of Makiguchi, Dewey, and Papert into his teaching methods, placing experiential learning at the forefront of his efforts. Adam has led students to build their own quadcopter, launch capsules into space, race RC cars at 60 mph, build giant flip books, custom bicycles, skateboards, autonomous boats, and so much more. His programs have been nationally recognized by the Nation of Makers and shared with the maker education community through Maker Ed. Adam is always coming up with new ideas and looking forward to the next adventure.

Steve Davee

Steve Davee is a Portland, Oregon-based teacher, educational documentarian, consultant, and tinkering evangelist. He is grateful for decades of volunteer and professional experiences learning and exploring with youth and adults of every age.

After degrees in Physics and Biochemistry/Biophysics, and an MS in Biochemistry, he began his career in biomedical research at the University of Arizona and with HHMI at OHSU. He entered formal education as Opal School’s Documentation Specialist/Math and Science Teacher, then served as the Director of Education and Chief Maker Educator for the Maker Education Initiative (Maker Ed).

His volunteer experience includes coaching and judging for Odyssey of the Mind, Destination Imagination, and FIRST Robotics, camp counseling for the OSU SMILE program and Oregon’s Outdoor School, founding a science undergraduate mentorship program, and six years serving in children’s hospitals.

In addition to consulting and teacher training, he currently teaches tinkering workshops in free public preschools for Teaching Preschool Partners, and serves on the boards of the CTE High School Center for Advanced Learning, and Portland Free Play.

Steve’s tinkering and creative outlets include exploring LEGO and design, rock climbing, skateboarding, bike racing, vintage electronics repair, and making music with a wide variety of hacked electronic gear.