Ying TRSEF Maker Halls
The Ying TRSEF has built a remarkable treasure trove of kits that enable people to create events that engage young people and the adults involved in their lives in the exploration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The effort is in the process of transitioning to Terra Science and Education with their commitment to continue and expand the work in coming years.
These kits have become the core of our Maker Hall resources. Interested sponsors don’t have to reinvent the wheel. They simply invite the Ying TRSEF to create their event!
Our “Maker Overview” introduces you to the Maker Movement and to Adventures the Ying TRSEF has already deployed as part of this exciting tool for STEM outreach.
>>> Contact mewood@terraed.org <<<
>>> to invite the MakerHall <<<
>>> to your community or organization. <<<
- Syracuse Maker Faire moved to the State Fairgrounds for more space and LOTS more fun” — and the biggest pasta palace yet! May 2024
- Rochester Maker Faire had an amazing crew of volunteers from RIT this year who helped us build the first ever “Rochester Pasta Palace”! Nov. 2023
- Pioneer Valley Maker Faire in Holyoke MA was our first foray into that state. A great outdoor venue with enthusiastic crowds … and the return of “The Mechanic is a Girl!” Oct. 2023
- Maker Faire Syracuse held forth at LeMoyne College in partnership with the CNY Science and Engineering Fair – a great success with families, fair kids, and OnTech volunteers. April 2023
- Rochester Maker Faire again included a Friday School-only Day as well as the usual public Maker Day on Saturday. Double the fun! Nov. 2022
- New Americans Day in the Park gathered refugee families for a MakerHall at Thornden Park with balls kicked, bubbles blown, music made, towers built, and so much more. August 2022
- National Grid’s Trades Camp at MercyWorks added an exciting new adventure from Syracuse Astronomical Society to our MakerHall treasures. July 17, 2022
- United We End Racism sponsored by InterfaithWorks filled the Inner Harbor with MakerHall adventures, and families thrilled to gather for a day packed with fun. June 11, 2022
- Rochester Maker Faire returned from the COVID shutdown :). We debuted the new MakerHall kit exploring the musical characteristics of … PVC pipes! Nov. 20, 2021
- National Grid’s Maker Day for their Youth Trades Program at the Dunbar Center was a high point of our summer! We made some adjustments due to COVID, but the students were as marvelous as ever! Aug. 17, 2021
- Duck Race to End Racism brought a dozen MakerHall kits to a splendid day of fun and celebration at the Syracuse Inner Harbor. June 2021
- LX Maker Fest at the Phelps Library and STEAM Lab Makerspace featured not only Terra’s MakerHall kits but also info about the TRFSEF next March. May 4, 2019
- Girls in STEM presented by the RIT’s College of Engineering Technology, Women in Technology, the RIT K12 University Center, and featuring RIT’s many amazing women in STEM had three TRFSEF stations – two for Maker, one for fair registration! Feb. 23, 2019
- Our Family Science Adventure at the Rochester Museum and Science Center brought the regional fair’s Committee and families interested in science fair together for an evening using Maker kits as starter projects. Nov. 29, 2018.
- Rochester Maker Faire was the first International Maker event we’ve done. Thousands of people, fossils racing out the door, laughter and photos galore! Nov. 16-17, 2018.
- STANYS State Conference Maker Space gave science teachers from across NYS a chance to play … and discover the MakerHall kit-based resources. Nov. 3-4, 2018.
- Meet the Science Fair brought several Maker kits to the Rochester Children’s Library so children could explore engineering while parents selected bags of books to bring home on October 26, 2018.
- Celebration of Children hosted by education graduate students brought Maker to a community celebration of talent at East High School, Rochester on October 21, 2018.
- March for Science STEM Expo at the Rochester Convention Center included not only an array of our MakerHall stations but also TRFSEF students who brought their science fair displays on April 14, 2018.
- Maker Hall at the Syracuse Academy of Science Middle School included an outstanding team of Maker Activity Hosts (almost all recruited from SAS High School and trained in advance for their stations) on November 17, 2017.
- Health and Wellness Extravaganza at the PEACE Center on Dr. King included Syracuse Inner City Rotary’s “Sports Math” Maker kit combining all sorts of balls, huge blue buckets, and calculators for their latest challenge for August 26, 2017.
- Maker Hall at the 2017 Duck Race to End Racism (our annual outdoor “bash” celebrating the rich diversity of our city and the glorious fun of learning!) filled the Inner Harbor with marvelous volunteers and Makers from across Central New York on June 10, 2017.
- Earth Day Makers were added to PEACE’s Johnson Family Resource Center’s community garden installation and neighborhood cleanup. SUNY ESF chemistry students hosted adventures for the youth volunteers and neighborhood families on April 22, 2017.
- Kuwaiti Educators’ “STEM Education à la Maker” gathered 30 Kuwaiti principals, the Assistant Minister of Education, and a key nonprofit president for an actual Maker experience with local children and grandparents at the Dunbar Center on March 16, 2017.
- Maker Magic filled the gym at the Dunbar Center for 30 principals, a Vice Minister of Education, and a foundation President from Kuwait who had come to Syracuse to learn about our education system. Using Maker kits, youth and adult Maker Hosts, and assigned roles, our guests experienced multi-generational hands-on discovery on March 16, 2017.
- Dr. King Community Day once again hosted Maker activities, filling Nottingham High’s cafeteria with nonprofit info tables and fun challenges for kids and adults on January 28, 2017.
- Girls World Expo at the State Fairgrounds included a formal STEM sponsorship by Ying TRSEF, free admission sponsorship by TACNY, and Maker Kit development grants for Adventure hosts from the Technical Societies Council. Middle and high school girls with their parents, teachers or mentors enjoyed four hours of challenging activities on November 6, 2016.
- Parent University Maker Hall served families speaking many different languages but all finding challenge and fun in the Maker Adventures. Our hosts added Korean, Nepali, Somali, Spanish to our October 22, 2016 fun at Fowler High School.
- Dunbar Center Maker Day opened Maker exploration to 20 new young scientists and engineers grades 2-8, plus a large class of enthusiastic educators attending a forum at SU, June 17, 2016, then transformed into a weekly STEM program for the summer camp children.
- Maker Hall at the Duck Race to End Racism, Syracuse NY challenged hundreds of new Makers to explore science and engineering as they celebrated the diversity of our city’s people at the Inner Harbor on Saturday, June 11, 2016.
- Maker Hall at the Central Western Section Science Congress, Rochester NY opened the door to fun exploration by all the science fair students and their families gathered at St. John Fisher College that Sunday, March 14, 2016.
- Dr. King Community Day TACNY Maker Hall brought 275 adults and children together for Adventures (including five new ones from partners) as part of an inspiring celebration of Dr. King’s belief in all people, January 30, 2016.
- Adventure Ideas at Taste of South Avenue provided “take home and do” STEM activities to adults attending the neighborhood food and music celebration on September 26, 2015.
- Maker Magic workshop featuring a Mini Maker Hall at the Summer 2015 NYS STEM Education Collaborative Institute at Alfred State, July 12-14, 2015.
- OCPL does STEM! is a pilot program with three OCPL branches. We trained the children’s librarians who hosted five different Maker activities in rotation among their branches throughout the summer, July and August, 2015. Kits are now permanently stored at an OCPL branch for use across the system.
- SCSD Parent University hosts another Syracuse Maker Hall at Dr. King School, E. Raynor Avenue, on Saturday, April 25, 2015.
- OCPL sponsors a Maker workshop for the Children’s Librarians in the system on Friday, April 24, 2015. Contact Ying TRSEF for more information.
- Dream It! Do It! of Cattaraugus County creates a Manufacturers’ Day on April 17, 2015, at Portville High School near Olean for over 700 high school students, and a public event for parents and teachers that afternoon. Ying TRSEF hosts three Maker stations with volunteers from the local schools and a team of St. Bonaventure professors.
- Our debut as a Maker organization was the NASA Mini Maker Fair at LeMoyne College – quite the splash, as seen in the photo opening this page. January, 2014.
Below is a sample layout for a Terra MakerHall station – we usually host 3-4 different activities at a Maker Faire and rotate the volunteers so they get a chance to play with everything.