Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago aims to spark creativity in its guests.
Being a maker is to be creative in your endeavors, whether designing new technology or just experimenting with a cooking recipe.
A celebration of the Maker Movement is being held at The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago (MSI), one of the largest science museums in the world. MSI is known for offering interactive experiences designed to inspire visitors’ creativity.
The MSI’s new hands-on exhibit, titled Makers United, is a workshop that allows guests to build their own piece of wearable technology while rekindling their interest in all forms of making.
“Makers United is an opportunity for guests to come and have a short but meaningful impact maker kind of experience,” said Manny Juarez, director of science and integrated strategies at MSI. “We wanted to look at the idea of community, and how you can be part of this makers movement or community, and certainly this idea of being your own creative self.”
The Makers United exhibit gives MSI guests the opportunity to build a simple circuit band with 10 different parts. Upon completion, the circuit’s rainbow-colored LED lights up and is worn around your wrist. Or, to be more maker creative, you can wear it on your clothes, in your hair or on your backpack.
It’s about thinking outside the box and realizing the creativity that is available in most things people do daily.
Perhaps making is your hobby, but makers who are educated in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, math) often find a new career path in manufacturing.
“There are a lot of opportunities that are developing for this kind of person who is just interested, and they learn the technology,” Juarez said. “We are just adding the layer of digital technology and where manufacturing is going. Additive manufacturing is going to be the way things are done probably in the next four or five years.”
The exhibit is sponsored ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company. ArcelorMittal seeks to provoke of culture of innovation that will benefit its future and the future of manufacturing.
“As the world’s leading steel and mining company, we are investing in STEM education to ensure we thrive in the newest industrial revolution,” said Bill Steers, general manager of communications and corporate responsibility for ArcelorMittal, at the show’s opening on March 21. “It is critical that our workforce of tomorrow is prepared to use technology to create value for our business and customers.”
So, who exactly is a maker? Well, just about everybody is a maker in some respect.
“Maker is sort of a broad name although people don’t quite understand how that’s used,” Juarez said. “You may have modified a recipe for example or even come up with something new on how you mix ingredients. You may have modified the things that you wear or how you carefully curate your look every day.
“Everybody’s a maker in some sense. Sometimes it’s just kind of a reminder. You probably are a maker too, you just don’t really know it.” Manny Juarez, MSI
“Sometimes people do art and give the gifts to their friends that they paint or draw. That sometimes is taking that process a step further than just the doing but also the sharing of it as well. So sometimes it’s just making people realize that they have their own creative inners selves, and this is just a way for them to acknowledge that and sometimes share it with a group.”
At MSI, everything on display starts with a spark of creativity. The Makers United exhibit is designed to create a design thinking process and problem solving. The building of a circuit band is just a small example of what it takes to be a maker.
“It’s an introduction to the idea of making something, of being a creative person but it’s also giving them the liberty and idea of taking that and taking it apart again when you get home,” Juarez said. “It’s that initial spark that we like to provide for guests, and they go off and we hope it will inspire them to their own making and creative exercises when they get home.
“If defines people in a way and can also lead to careers and what people do for work. We hopefully are creating the freedom for people to think in a creative way in their work if they don’t actually think about it. Or maybe they are in a field is built around creativity, so we also talk about engineering, design, architecture. But that can also be in the restaurant field or in education or in those places where people sometimes need to be more creative and have the liberty to think they can be that way outside the real world.
“Everybody’s a maker in some sense. Sometimes it’s just kind of a reminder. You probably are a maker too, you just don’t really know it.”
The Makers United exhibit runs through Jan. 5, 2020.