You don’t have to be an engineer or scientist to come along to Dublin Maker next Saturday, July 21st, at Merrion Square. This community-run event, which is free, has hundreds of “makers”, including hobbyist roboticists, coders, weavers, artists, educators and a collective known as Kitchen Table Top Science, who will show the kids come cool science experiments they can do at home.
There are far too many exciting, kid-friendly activities to mention (see the website for full details) but one I think all children will love is the Quiver demo: this augmented reality colouring app brings pictures to 3D life; print one of their templates from the web, colour it in and when you hover your smartphone over the image it transforms into a 360 holographic experience. There will also be several robots present, including BB-8 and the First Order’s BB-9E (cute but evil).
Engineer Jeffrey Roe, who is one of Dublin Maker's organisers, says: "[Everyone] should come along because we have an eclectic mix of all sorts of makers across the Stem spectrum with projects ranging from high-tech radioactivity detecting robots to behavioural experiments with live jellyfish."