Art + Science = Exciting

An Over Coffee® special-edition podcast

One fact, at the core of the maker movement, can come as a surprise.

"Art and science are inseparable," says electrical engineer, educational advocate, author and speaker Sylvia Libow Martinez (l)

That's both a statement from her book, and a principle which artists like Audrey Lee Love (r) are proving on a daily basis.

And on Saturday, July 29th, Over Coffee® had the honor of live-hosting a discussion panel: "The Intersection of Art and Science", with both Audrey and Sylvia as our special guests.

Our panel happened at Southern California's first-ever bookstore to carry all independent authors: Pipe & Thimble Publishing, in the city of Lomita.

Audrey's career as a professional aritst has included five years as a full-time DIY content creator on Instructables.com,  and ten years of installing art at Burning Man.

Meanwhile, Sylvia is the co-author (with Gary Stager) of Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering and Engineering in the Classroom, and one of the creators of our current GPS system!

Our discussion centered on the ways the maker movement can change education for the better, and how creativity is enhanced by, rather than isolated from, science, technology, engineering and math.
On this edition of Over Coffee®, you'll hear:

How Audrey and Sylvia first became interested in their respective fields;

What schools can do differently, to effectively present subjects like math and science to arts-oriented students;

How Audrey's work with Burning Man led to her work with Instructables.com;

Sylvia's perspective on  the "fun" element in science;

How Sylvia and Gary came to write their book;

Sylvia's advice to parents, on getting schools to teach STEM principles by teaching maker skills in the classroom;

How teachers can implement the use of project-based learning in the classroom;

Ideas to interest arts-oriented students in science or math;

A simple, everyday kids'activity, that will teach math;

How a makers' stance, throughout school, can reach students, based on their own individual interests and experiences;

How we can get more girls interested in STEM subjects;

Some LED wearable project ideas that could intrigue young girls;

A look at some "very simples", safe and conductive technologies, for creating light-up art;

How maker skills can validate, rather than discourage, students;

Some of the trends Audrey and Sylvia are seeing with the maker movement in relation to education;

Resources for parents and teachers, for teaching maker skills;

Future skills schools need to teach students, to become effective members of a future workforce;

How to overcome perfectionism when teaching project-based learning;

How to use skills from the maker movement to get ready for Halloween;

Where you can see the current projects in which Audrey and Sylvia are involved;
AND all the excellent questions our audience asked!