We are a community bursting with creativity.

This weekend... an eco-carnival and e-waste event.This proud young lady made her dress from recycled materials. See more at The Summit for the Planet!

Next weekend, Santa Cruz Mini MakerFaire. From low Tech to high tech, making is very satisfying. Children are excellent at creating something entirely new, and sometimes so inexplicable that we must simply, silently, smile and be there.

This enjoyment in making continues throughout our lives. Just imagine the fun an adult had converting an Airstream trailer into a seven-headed, fire-breathing dragon, and placing it on display at last year's Faire.

Every once in a while a weekend comes along with so many fun events that we cannot possibly attend all that intrigue us. This is one of those! We are still adding to the weekend calendar, so check back at the end of the day!

Enjoy the making moments over the weekend with the family! Parmalee

Third Annual Santa Cruz Mini Maker Faire, May 5th, 2018 from 10am-5pm

by Zachary Roberts, Gateway Head of School

My middle child, who is 11 years old, will sit for hours and recreate the photographs in wildlife magazines using paint, pen, and other art supplies. At other times she'll draw on images only she can see in her mind's eye to create original artwork. Though I take great joy in watching her, I know this is not particularly unique to my offspring; whether it's working with art supplies, or carpentry and power tools, or 3d printers and digital fabrication devices, or a recycled pile of "beautiful junk", most children express an intense interest and delight in the act of making.

I started the Santa Cruz Mini Maker Faire because I am in love with human imagination! Like dogs, cats, and just a few other animals, we get to play our entire lives, and at the root of play is the idea of bringing new ideas to life. Fortunately, making a new reality is not limited to children's inner lives.  Santa Cruz has a vibrant scene for makers, from surfboards, skateboards, and mountain bikes, to genetic sequencers and big data mining, to artists and craftsman working across a range of media, including fine art and musical instruments. 

This year will be the third year for the Santa Cruz Mini Maker Faire, and we're excited to have it at the Visual, Applied, and Performing Arts (VAPA) Complex at Cabrillo College. In the first two years the event has averaged 1300 people enjoying 45 exhibits, half a dozen food vendors, and 8-10 musical and dance performances. It's a family-friendly event that is free for children age 3 and under, and just $3 for kids age 4-12. On-site parking is free!

The Faire features a huge assortment of hands-on making experiences, including woodworking, jewelry making, photography, print making, 3d printing, beer brewing, soap making, the world's largest pom poms, and much more. We'll have a solar-powered race car built by UCSC students, a replica of an Apple-1 computer built by a local high school student, and so much more -- and the makers will all be there to explain what they made, and how they made it. You can see the entire line-up for the event online at our website.

At Gateway School, we have the first Maker Space and fabrication lab at a K-8 school in Santa Cruz County, because we believe that hands-on making is a way to strengthen problem solving, resiliency, creativity and empathy.  We are very grateful to SantaCruzParent.com, Growing Up In Santa Cruz, the Museum of Discovery, and other child-friendly outlets and organizations for helping to sponsor and promote the Mini Maker Faire. We hope to inspire children and families through Santa Cruz with a day of joyful discovery, wonder, and creation!

Zachary Roberts is the Head of School at Gateway School, and the event producer behind the Santa Cruz Mini Maker Faire. He likes to make breakfast, write sonnets, and play bluegrass.

"With nothing more than a little imagination, boxes can be transformed into forts or houses, spaceships or submarines, castles or caves.

Inside a big cardboard box, a child is transported to a world of his or her own, one where anything is possible." - National Toy Hall of Fame

What does Facebook know about you? Do you care?

I am a reluctantly happy user of Facebook. So many of its qualities are fabulous. I love being able to click on the feed of a friend or family member and find out what's happening in their lives. I love getting up-to-date information from groups that I follow. I love being able to spread my own news, both business and personal, in a fun, interactive way.

But like many users, I am extremely skeptical of giving away my privacy to a corporation. In fact, I'd say I'm probably more skeptical than most avid users of Facebook. I try very hard not to post much public information, I have never given Facebook my birthdate or the identities of relatives who don't share my last name, and I never, ever click on ads or apps within Facebook.

What Facebook knows about me

Apparently my diligence has paid off. Facebook, in response to a number of factors including pressure from the EU and that whole "oops, we let Russians subvert our elective process" thang, is rolling out a new feature where you can find out what they know about you. Find out>>>

Suki Wessling is a local mom who writes fiction and nonfiction about reading, writing, parenting, education, and homeschooling. If you'd like to learn more about this Suki go here.