Toronto Squirrel

January 19, 2013Education, GalleryTorontoDarcy

Alon of Toronto sent me this Squirrel he made with his (nearly) 6 years old and my (nearly) 2 years old daughters.

Alon is involved with ‘Pueblo Science‘ which helps children by delivering an engaging, fun experience with science, without the buzz and props that make such activities inaccessible for so many around the world.

Our initial (and still our main) focus lies in the Philippines, which similarly to Bangladesh, suffers from science education deficiency, mainly prominent in rural areas, far from large cities which enjoy most of the economical drive driven by governments.

Recently, we have begun to mirror our work to our local environment, Toronto Canada. Although the setting is vastly different, there are still many children in Toronto that lack the financial privilege to access enrichment activities such as summer camps and after school programs. We hope we can make a difference here, as we do in the Philippines.

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Squirrels in Haiti

January 19, 2013OutreachHaitiDarcy

My friend Craig Senior hooked me up with an opportunity to donate some Squirrels to children in Haiti. Here’s my new friend Gertha right after briefing. She is in Haiti with her husband now so I’m looking forward to hearing how things are going.

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Squirrel-O-Rama Last Wednesday

January 19, 2013Gallery, OutreachSquirrel-O-RamaDarcy

We are now meeting regularly to make Squirrels. Here are a few pictures from last Wednesday.

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How Squirrel Kits are Made

January 12, 2013Experimental, OutreachDarcy

Here are some shots of the laser system cutting balsa wood.

It is a CNC Laser system. The laser uses CO2 gas and 25,000 Volts to make the laser beam. Definitely a place to keep your fingers away from.

There is another type of machine that helps make the boxes for shipping. There is a video of that below. It’s a great system for making any kind of small box. It uses a Dremel Moto-Tool to cut the cardboard.

How Shipping Boxes are Made

We reuse cardboard by cutting it to 22×16″ slabs and cutting it with this machine. This can make a box large enough for 10 Squirrels. For larger boxes, there is usually a standard size available so we reuse those. Any box that has an edge that’s 12.5″ (32cm) is good.