I just want to say thank you to those who helped with the makerfaire.
I especially want to say thanks to Marcus, Ryan, and Jim for pulling everything together. Thanks to Shadoxx, Sam, Franklin, John S., Ivan, and anyone I may not have seen in the mayhem (sorry if I missed you) for helping set everything up and manning the booths.
You guys are awesome!
Let’s see if we can get even more cool stuff together for next year now!
Jon
I will be having a Google drive with photos within the week
Excellent! Thank you so much for taking pictures! Do you have a flickr account by any chance? If so there is a Hive13 group that you can add pictures to.
I’ll check
Sorry I couldn't stay longer Saturday. I had to get my daughter home so she could get ready for homecoming.
I was just about to compose a similar email, Jon N.
Thanks especially to everyone who helped teach soldering. I was so focused (that’s how I avoid getting burned, I never look away from their hands if I could help it) that I would look over, and there would be someone else beside me.
So thanks to everyone Jon mentioned, plus himself for teaching along side me, long after he said he was going to leave.
Not to take away from any of those who taught, I appreciated all of it, but I specifically wanted to mention Sam, who I taught to solder Friday night, which didn’t stop him at all and Jordan (not my son, he’s not on the mailing list, I thanked him personally) for sticking so long since I basically just grabbed him and volunteered him.
Jon M, you were there for a really long time Saturday!
For those who didn’t hear, we ran out of boards about 3-3:30 on Sunday. Meaning (depending on how many of the ones in the “see if we can rescue them” box are from this year) that we did between 260-290 badges. One every two and a half minutes for 11 hours! 
Time to start working on design 2.0. There are some minor tweaks I have in mind (bigger solder pads, a bigger “+” on the front) and there is plenty of room for you guys who want to make an advanced version.
I also did not start this thread, but will use it now to add my sincere thanks for all the Hive volunteers, especially those who found time to help with the Power Tool Drag Race between the two days.
Many hands made light work at the PTDR. A few showed off their showman/barker talents; more pitched-in to speed up operations when the lines were long; and the best help was the finishing crew that pitched in for the tear-down, pack out, and final unloading at the hive.
Hive13 should be very proud. We made a super contribution to life in Cincinnati, our ‘Faire’ city, this past weekend. Volunteering always implies giving. It is easy to focus inward and see it as hard and thankless work. You will always find the rewards that justify the effort in the moments when you look outward and see some kid’s eyes light up with excitement. Sometimes, it comes as a brief nod from a grateful parent standing in the background that knows magic just happened. Through these efforts, we are planting seeds, not yet seeing how they will grow.
Pause and reflect on the moments and mentors from your past that inspired you on to your career path. Now realize that you have just given some other larger group from the next generation that same gift. It makes it all worthwhile.
JimD
Well stated, Jim. In the limited Tim I had to contribute, I saw that spark in many of the kids' eyes, as well as a few adults. The one that stands out was a boy around 9 or 10 that seemed nervous while soldering the LED. Then I flipped the board for the battery holder, and said something like "You get to do 2 more". To which he replied "LET'S DO THIS!"
Moments like that make it all worthwhile.
Hah, I remember that kid and that moment!
I can almost see it as if I was with you, and so we get to share a smile and a tear. That is a good memory to hold on to.
Jim
I created a flickr group “Cincinnati Mini Maker Faire 2014”: https://www.flickr.com/groups/2744415@N23/
Feel free to add your photos to it, it should be a public group.
All - I wanted to add my thanks, as a member of the general public, for what you guys put on at the Mini Maker Faire. My family and I had a nice and informative chat with one of your volunteer makers (Amanda, maybe?) and made the mistake of “waiting for the soldering line to die down.”
Does Hive13 offer regular classes or something that would help me and my 10-year-old learn first-time soldering?
Thanks again!
Mike Davis
Mike -
We do not hold regular soldering classes, but please feel free to drop by during any of our open events. We have an electronics workbench available, and I’m sure many of us would be happy to provide a brief tutorial.
Our event calendar may be seen in the right hand column of our homepage at http://www.hive13.org/
Probably the most fitting events are:
Weekly Update Meeting - Every Tuesday at 7:30P. People begin arriving as early as 5PM.
Microcontroller Monday - First and Third Monday at 7:00P
There are also members working at the Hive at many other times, and people are welcome to come down for a quick tour anytime the space is open. Let us know if you have further questions.
I was going to say pretty much the same thing Ryan did. If you were to show up at either of these events and say you wanted to learn to solder, someone would jump up and do it.
If you would like something more concrete, let us know a particular Monday or Tuesday and I or someone will make it a point of being there ( I don’t always come to the meetings unless I have an agenda) and will do the longer version of the makerfair spiel.
Note that we are out of the blinky badge kits and have not yet discussed when we will have more. While I’m sure there is stuff around the hive to demonstrate on, It’s much more rewarding to walk away with something you have made, so you might want to pick up a simple kit from microcenter or online. Your son will certainly get a better experience if there is a thing that you have made at the end.
Maybe something like http://www.microcenter.com/product/408449/Music_Game_Kit
Another good one, more in line with the badge we were doing and a bit cheaper, might be http://www.microcenter.com/product/428739/FLASHING_LED_SWEETHEART_KIT . Interesting, the product pictured there is not actually this kit. http://www.amazon.com/Velleman-MK101-Flashing-Led-Sweetheart/dp/B000LQGC00 is what it really looks like.
Wow! Thanks for the suggestions. I didn’t realize Micro Center had so much for the hobby/educational electronics crowd. Last time I was there was the early 90s, buying PC parts. Looks like it’s time to go shopping (and talk the kid into going with me).