Birthdays: Graham Gardiner, Jack Kinch, John Rose, Bob Niebert, Laura Power

 

50/50: $89.00 Rick Bolzon, Ed Simon, Judy Nairn, no luck

 

 

President’s Night is June 22, Dinner at Rebel Creek, golf that afternoon at New Dundee

 

Guest Speaker: Cam Turner, Tinker Truck

 

Following his studies at the University of Waterloo in computer science and fine arts, Cam started his professional career by creating a start-up computer company.  That eventually led Cam to a senior position at Desire to Learn.  However, two years ago, with the encouragement of his wife, who identified that Cam was happiest when he was creating things, Cam started his own ‘maker club’.

 

A ‘maker’ is when two technologies are combined to make something.  For example welding and electronics gives us robots.  Kitchener-Waterloo is a well-known ‘hot spot’ in North America for innovation, manufacturing and entrepreneurship.  There is a philosophy that it’s acceptable, in fact encouraged, for these types of entrepreneurs to fail their way to success.

 

Cam’s inspiration comes from well-known modern  scientists and inventors including McGyver, Bill Nigh the science guy, and more recently Myth Busters.

 

There are various types of maker clubs throughout the Region, for adults and for kids, such at the Underground Studio at TheMusuem in downtown Kitchener.  Cam’s passion is empowering children to gain the confidence to make things.  He has a mobile maker truck with all the supplies to teach children how to use tools safely and to create or repair things.  A generation ago, people fixed things when they broke; today we just throw them away.  Cam wants to lessen the fear of discovery (taking things apart to see how they work) and to create a new generation who have the skills to fix and create things.  Children who learn to persevere will go further in life.  Kids need to take risks, and parents need to stand back and let them.