Blog

"Are we building today?" asked the first engineering student who entered the classroom. "No," replied the teacher, "today we are going to study a collection of tools that other people have built. In particular we are going to explore and figure out what challenge each tool helps its user solve." And with that, the enthusiastic and curious class of 8th graders jumped right in to study and decipher each tool. Hopefully the various mechanisms they explored today will inform the building that they do going forward.  Below is a photo of one of the students exploring the abrading mechanism of a Walker Manufacturing Peerless pencil sharpener produced between 1892 and 1902.  

THANK YOU to JB of NYC who donated a Jiffy-Way egg scale to Inspiring Machines.  Do you have an Inpiring Machine to donate?  Fill out the Donate an Inspiring Machine form (it's an option in the Main Menu) and we will be in touch.  Thank you again, JB!

 Children of all ages enjoyed experimenting with Inspiring Machine's Kitchen Collection — in the water at Dynamic H2O, CMOM's splashy seasonal outdoor exhibit.  Younger children particularly enjoyed the kitchen beaters and elongated tongs while the older children were fascinated by the archimedes screws that turned the mixers.  It was especially rewarding to hear the conversations between children and their adults -- adults marvelling that they "had these in my kitchen" or "my grandmother had one of these" and then asking the children if they knew what the machines could do.  Inspiring Machines is looking forward to continuing to partner with CMOM.  Check back to learn more about future events.

West Side Kids (WSK) in New York City invited Inspiring Kids to help educate its community about the affects of potential tarrifs on its business.  Children (and adults) were invited to print their names on the printing press and add their name to the WSK "Resist Tarriffs" petition.

"Some of these machines are better than what we have."

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"Look, this does the same thing as that other machine...but differently."

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"I'm going to get an apple and see if it still works."​

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"Is this a time travel machine?"

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"I'm going to find out if it still works"

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Tasked by their teacher to explore and discover what task each machine might make easier, eigth grade students at The Stephen Gaynor School made some very thoughtful observations (above).  Best of all, when a student asked, "Can I touch it?" Inspiring Machines answered with a resounding "Yes!" to which we were rewarded with a chorus of "Let me try, let me try!"

I'm often asked where I get all of the machines -- most all of them come from flea markets, garage sales and auctions.  I picked up this wonderful rotary ruler at the Stormville Antique Market. As the center chrome wheel spins, both the inch and foot wheel rotate to measure the distance travelled.  I couldn't agree more with the name of this tool--it's a Marvel Measuring Device! 

Today I visited Bowne & Co., an offshoot of a printing company founded in NY in 1775. I had a spectacular afternoon printing stationary on a Golding Official no. 4 press with lead type in historical fonts -- Card Mercantile (ca. 1899) and Ronaldson (ca. 1884.) I highly recommend a visit to their turn-of-the-century print shop with 15+ working presses and thousands of type trays.