For Masterful Creations STEAM Academy Founder Mitchell Malpartida, creativity is all about exploration.
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And when Valentine’s Day rolls around, Mitchell has plenty of fun ideas. His maker projects won’t cost a lot. But they will tend to wow your favorite Valentine recipients.
As a technologist, an educator and a dad, Mitchell first became involved in S.T.E.A.M. projects (science, technology, engineering, art and math) when his oldest daughter was in kindergarten. Using his technology background, he visited her classroom, taught the students to make a simple robotic project–and found himself “hooked”.
Today, he is a regular contributor to the Make: community, a frequent guest speaker in local schools, and a workshop creator for Wonder Workshops. And if you’re “stuck” for a more creative way to say “Happy Valentine’s Day!” to someone special, you might like to attend his virtual workshop, on February 12th, where he’ll be teaching participants to craft a light-up thermoplastic flower for Valentine’s Day.
Can’t make it that date, but would like to know more? Mitchell says he has several additional virtual workshops coming up–including one with a fun springtime theme and one based on a popular movie.
Meanwhile, he continues to challenge himself with new maker projects, as he teaches maker skills to his own children. You’ll find a number of projects which Mitchell and his family have done, on his YouTube channel and Instagram. Robotics, light-ups, and 3D printing are all media they’ve put to use–and the results are highly creative, and a lot of fun.
Mitchell offered some ideas for Valentine projects, previewed his upcoming workshops and shared his thoughts on approaching new projects as a maker.
On this edition of Over Coffee® we cover:
- What’s been happening for Mitchell, with Masterful Creations, since our 2019 conversation;
- A preview of his February 12th Valentine-themed virtual workshop;
- Mitchell’s experiences as a maker, learning and exploring with his own children;
- How to overcome the “intimidation factor” with technology and new hands-on projects;
- His tips for fellow educators, on creating compelling content online;
- A new resource and a new concept with which Mitchell is working, that are inspiring him to create new maker projects;
- The story behind a project that took Mitchell out of his comfort zone, as a maker;
- Where he’d like to expand his skills and work more, in the future.