How to use a MaKey MaKey and Scratch to learn the piano

We have an upcoming holiday workshop at Landon Library and wanted to make something special for the event. We’ve had an idea for a while now to use a MaKey MaKey and Scratch to introduce people to playing the piano. These two tools allow us to make playing the piano seem less intimidating, because instead of […]

How to use a MaKey MaKey as a great icebreaker

At the MakerBus we work with a lot of different ages, experience levels, and backgrounds – and we’ve noticed that many learners are reluctant to dive into maker education. Our projects can be quite different than traditional education projects and can seem intimidating or strange to many learners. If you’re a maker educator and need […]

The MakerBus – Adventures on the road…

Imagine that you’re broken down on the side of the road. You need gas, but as hard as you try, the spout of your jerry can won’t reach into your gas tank. Now imagine that to solve this problem you have a length of tubing, three people, and a funnel. This isn’t a personality test […]

5 Maker Halloween Costume Ideas

With one week until Halloween, it might be a good time to start planning your Halloween costume. This year instead of buying something from the store, why not embrace your inner maker and build something from scratch. Here are 5 ideas for fun, inexpensive homemade Halloween costumes. 1. Get Creative with Cardboard – You can make […]

Join the MakerBus at Forest City Comicon Sunday October 18th

Up-cycled pop-culture jewelry, superhero fan mail, and a DIY arcade – oh my! On Sunday October 18th join the MakerBus team at Forest City Comicon for a day of fantastical fun. We will be bringing some maker-style creativity to this event to share with everyone at FCC. What kinds of things are we planning, you […]

Reflections on creating Canada’s Longest Human Circuit

On September 26th, 704 people came together in downtown London to create Canada’s Longest Human Circuit. While we were 611 people short of breaking the World Record for the Longest Human Circuit (currently held in Sydney Australia with 1315 people), we were amazed to see that many people come out in our community to support a […]

Five Ways to #MAKE an Awesome Halloween Jack-o-Lantern

It’s October and that means Halloween in around the corner. From costumes, to jack-o-lanterns, to spooky home decor, Halloween is a maker’s playground. Each week for the month of October the MakerBoos… sorry the MakerBus team will post a different list of ideas for different maker Halloween projects. This week we’re looking a fun ways […]

How would you build a mobile makerspace?

As the summer winds down, we’re gearing up for the second round of MakerBus renovations. Last year with the help of Paul Graham at Alpine Systems Engineering and his amazing team, we turned a rusted, old school bus into our big blue beauty. The second stage of renovations will focus on the interior of the […]

It’s about making more than money: commercialization and the maker movement

When doing workshops in the community we use a variety of different tools and equipment, ranging from 3D printers, to littleBits, to MakeDos, to MaKey MaKeys. At these workshops we’re often asked a very natural question – “Where can I buy this?” At the MakerBus we’re fortunate to have a lot of different, and generally […]

Making Friends in New Places – Our trips to MakerFaire Detroit and the Toronto Maker Festival

It has been a busy couple of weeks for the MakerBus team. In a two-week period we’ve participated in the Detroit Maker Faire and the Toronto Maker Festival. Now that we’re back in our home of London, Ontario, we wanted to write a quick post about our experiences and the loads of new maker friends we’ve made […]