Project Unicorn Spreads Glitter Across DC
maker faire award
Maker Health presentation
Sorry for the time gap, but I felt the need to take a little break from posting last week... and I have so many stories to catch up on telling.The kids had a chance to take a huge one-week adventure in Washington, DC and New York City with me. Jordan, Cameron and I made the best out of one of my work trips to DC and got to participate in a couple of events tied to the National Week of Making. The kids also got to visit my office and hang out. They've never done that before. They dropped by with Randy while visiting for Spring Break in 2015. They are kids who have grown up in a newsroom, so a space full of offices and hallways was very different.Before they spent time with me at work, we got into town to enjoy two days of the National Maker Faire. This is the second of three flagship faires Jordan and I have had a chance to attend this year. (The last one is in October in New York City.) Jordan didn't really get to see as much of the Bay Area event because she was tinkering with Project Unicorn, so it was fun to really dig into the event in DC. But that didn't stop her from showing off her project. One of the organizers of Maker Faire was kind enough to award Jordan an "Editor's Choice" ribbon on the second day. That was super cool. Both kids LOVED learning and playing around technology and design.Their favorite product on display was a cardboard pinball kit that lets you build the game and design it with whatever theme you want. The creators of PinBox 3000 were so impressed with Jordan's Project Unicorn, they gave her a set to build once we got home. That was super cool and I promise to share details about Jordan's new designs soon.Thanks to DC friends, the kids got to tour museums and we even had a chance to see the pandas at the National Zoo!I'd say our big highlight of DC was getting the chance to present at the final event for National Maker Week: Making Health. Jordan, Cameron and I presented at a table for a few hours explaining Born Just Right and Jordan's Project Unicorn. We displayed the different iterations of her project and Jordan talked to SO many people about how she took her sparkling superhero idea and made it a reality. I'm so proud of her presentation skills. She found seven or eight opportunities to shoot sparkles and show off how her project works. (Including Cameron!)
Near the end of the event, Jordan and I had a chance to present Born Just Right to the whole crowd attending the event. Jordan demonstrated how Project Unicorn works to
MedStar Health's Chief Medical Officer
! I hope he was able to get the sparkles off his suit!We are honored to have had the chance to participate in the event... And be a part of the growing community of Maker Health. I want to especially thank Health and Human Services Chief Technology Officer,
, for invited us to join in on the fun.I feel like we are just getting started participating in this space. Kids have a huge opportunity to play a role in the development of products and tools that can help their health and well-being. As Jordan has told me so many times, she wants to learn more so she can help kids build helpful and fun things. Everything is possible.