Scientists, engineers and builders of all ages gather every year in San Francisco to celebrate their love of inventing things through an event called The Bay Area Maker Faire.
The Maker Faire has become a gathering place for those who like to tinker, build and answer questions through inventions. Adam Savage, from the hit TV show 'Mythbusters,' felt right at home at the event, and spoke with the NewsHour's Science Correspondent Miles O'Brien about the role he feels invention plays in young people's lives today.
"If you teach people to do things through science and technology, they do," Savage said. "And kids find it most exciting of all."
Savage points out that the "hacking" movement, or tinkering with electronics and other consumer products, has really taken off in the past few years. He says kids as young as 12 are improving their own cell phones and devices through creativity and trial and error. Savage believes those skills can help today's youth overcome what some are calling a 'crisis' in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.
Quotes
"People are cracking open their cell phones and adding new features with their own soldering iron, that's amazing" - Adam Savage, 'Mythbusters'
"There is a certain point where [technology] is all magic and mystery, and there is a certain point where people start to get it and mess around with it." - Adam Savage, 'Mythbusters'
Warm Up Questions
1. What does 'DIY' stand for?
2. What does it mean to invent something?
Discussion Questions
1. Have you ever "tinkered" with a device or an object to improve it? Did you succeed? Did you learn something in the process? If so, what?
2. If you had to come up with an idea for an invention, what would you invent? What do you think it would take to make that invention a reality?
3. Why do you think U.S. students are behind their peers around the world in science, engineering, math and technology? Are you interested in those subjects? Why or why not?
4. If you or a member of your family needs something, such as an object to help you in your everyday life, where do you get it from? Where do you think people got the things they needed 100 years ago? 200 years ago?
5. According to Adam Savage in this video, what item did many Americans start to 'tinker' with after World War II? What newer inventions do you think people will start to take apart and engineer for their own purposes in the coming years?
Additional Resources
Teen Scientist Develops Device to Fight Terrorism
