STEM Needs a New Letter

In order to bridge the chasm between abstract idea and utility, some educators are advocating for an expansion of the popular STEM acronym−Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. They believe STEM should include the letter 'A' for "art and design." Read More.

STEAM Blends Science and the Arts in Public Education

Students at MS 534 in Brooklyn faced an unusual assignment in their photography class: They had to build their own cameras. The pilot program in the public school is part of a growing national push to blend science and the arts−subjects that, at times, have seemed locked in a zero-sum game for school funding. Read More.

To Learn How Your Camera Works, Try Building One

Digital cameras are ubiquitous today − even $20 cell phones have them built in. But few people actually know how a digital camera works. Shree Nayar, a computer scientist at Columbia University, set out to change that with his Bigshot Do-It-Yourself Digital Camera kit, which gives tinkerers a view of a camera's anatomy. Listen Online.

Bigshot DIY camera aims to teach kids tech basics

"By putting the Bigshot cameras together and taking artistic photos the children combine arts, science, technology and engineering in ways that really haven't been possible before," said Jerry James, the centre's director of teaching and learning Read More.

The Best Camera For A Child May Be One They Have To Build

What a build-it-yourself digital camera kit can tell us about how to teach kids (and some adults) about building hardware. Read More.

Bigshot Offers Build-it-Yourself Digital Camera

If you are a photographer with children, then you may want to consider sharing photography with them via the Bigshot camera. Read More.

Build your own point-and-shoot camera with Bigshot

Budding young photographers (and curious adults) can put together their own camera with Bigshot, a DIY point-and-shoot aimed at teaching kids tech hardware basics. Read More.

The Bigshot Camera Is A Full Fledged DIY Digital Camera

What I find to give this project even more added value is the learning center that you can access via the web (even if you did not buy the camera). Read More.

Do It Yourself, or With the Help of Tinkerers Everywhere

"BigShot is novel and important," said Dr. Margaret Honey, president and chief executive of the New York Hall of Science. "You are building a complex tool, but you are also learning the science, through the thoughtful way the components in the kit are designed and backed up by Internet resources." Read More.

Students Can Build Digital Cameras, Focus On Science Lessons

"The Big Shot Camera could arguably be the most valuable digital camera ever made, as it is intended to be constructed by children in a classroom environment." Read More.

BigShot: Snap-together camera introduces kids to tech, and to their world

"After-school programs use the simple, experimental BigShot camera to teach young students about art, engineering, and culture." Read More.

Kids Take Their Best Shot (and Learn about Electronics in the Process)

"What could be cooler for an aspiring scientist or engineer than a hands-on project working with and learning about electronics and optics? How about one where each student ends up with his or her own digital camera." Read More.

BigShot Kit Camera, Like Crack for Kids

"It comes in parts, ready to be assembled (by kids, but I can't wait to get my hands on one), and teaches you along the way how these things work." Read More.

Big Shot camera kit could help turn your kid on to the dark world of the teardown

"The Big Shot digital camera kit, when it hits the market, will be a box of all the necessary parts for kids to be able to build their own simple, candy-colored digital camera." Read More.

Bigshot Camera

"Not only do kids have the fun of building a useful object from scratch, but as they manipulate the lenses, gears and dynamo, they learn about optics, mechanics and energy." Read More.

Little Camera, Big Idea

"It comes as a kit, allowing children as young as eight to assemble a device as sophisticated as the kind grown-ups use − complete with a flash and standard, 3D and panoramic lenses − only cooler." Read More.

BigShot digital camera kit for kids

"The Bigshot project is a wonderful example of science and engineering education through experiential hands-on learning." Read More.