The Children's Museum of Houston is debuting a new exhibit called "Instructables: Made in Your Mind" on May 29, 2012. The exhibit is inspired by the website Instructables and aims to encourage creative problem solving and a "maker attitude" in children. It will include rotating hands-on projects that children can complete, such as building a duct tape wallet or creating an instrument controlled with light. The exhibit provides materials and instructions to help children learn through completing fun, interactive do-it-yourself activities.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Henry Yau (hyau@cmhouston.org)
O: (713) 535-7267; C: (713) 240-4956
Melissa Denman (mdenman@cmhouston.org)
(713) 535-7213
Shannon Gilliam (sgilliam@cmhouston.org)
INSTRUCTABLES®: MADE IN YOUR MIND
Children’s Museum of Houston encourages the “maker
attitude” with its new DIY exhibit inspired by Instructables®
Exhibit Debuts May 29
HOUSTON (April 9, 2012)—You can do it! Anyone can build and create; all you need is a little
initiative, teamwork and a DIY attitude. Strap on your thinking cap and put your problem-solving
skills to the test in Instructables®: Made in Your Mind, a new hands-on, do-it-yourself exhibit
debuting May 29 – Nov. 4, 2012 at the Children’s Museum of Houston (CMH). From a duct
tape wallet to an electric instrumented controlled with light, creating your own projects is fun as
long as you have a maker attitude!
“The maker attitude is the inherent need to create your own projects based on personal desires.
Instead of spending money on something already made, a maker creates something new or
modifies something existing that meets their needs. Many kids these days are not being
provided with enough opportunities to problem solve their way through projects and learn new
skills, all of which are essential to develop the maker attitude,” said Director of Educational
Technology and Exhibit Development, Keith Ostfeld. “We want to take them back to basics and
show them that with a little time and patience, anyone can make something fun and interesting.”
Made in Your Mind strives to instill the importance of engineering and perseverance in kids
through a hands-on, step-by-step process based on the concept of the Instructables® website
(www.instructables.com). Branded the “world’s largest show and tell,” Instructables® is a web-
based platform where people share what they created and how they created it, as well as learn
from and collaborate with others. CMH was given the green light by Instructables® to create an
exhibit that would capture the website’s objectives by presenting families adaptations of many of
the projects that can be found on the website along with all the materials necessary to complete
each project.
Made in Your Mind demonstrates that, with critical thinking and communication, you can do
anything to which you set your mind. Through an ever-cycling menagerie of activities such as a
mini-air cannon and pocket flashlights you can make and you can do!
“Experience builds knowledge and skills,” said Ostfeld. “With the Made In Your Mind exhibit,
we provide a place for kids to practice and learn in a fun, safe setting. After all, what’s ‘made in
your mind’ can be made reality so long as you have the right knowledge, skills, and attitude.”
WHAT WE HAVE IN MIND FOR YOU:
 As you enter Made in Your Mind, a Menu Board will provide the selection 8 activities for
that week. Activity options will span the age and ability levels of the children who visit

2. Instructables: Made in Your Mind debuts May 29, 2012
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the Museum. The activities will be rotated on a regular basis so families who visit
multiple times can do different projects.
 Once the project has been selected, grab a tub and pick up the materials for the project
at the Supply Bins. .
 After collecting all the supplies you need, take the supplies over to the Project Table
and start building away! Each Project Table provides a workspace, all tools needed to
complete the project, and video instructions to help with the building of each project.
 After building your creation, race on over to the Testing Zone where to put the project to
the test! This space will provide a place test the project and consider the changes,
adaptations, and tweaks necessary to make it awesome! Remember: practice makes
perfect!
There will be six sets of eight activities which will rotate throughout Made in Your Mind.
Seventy-five percent of all activities are free. Paid activities are less than $5 and all costs cover
the cost of more expensive materials. Finally, don’t forget: any project you make, you can take
home with you!
ABOUT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF HOUSTON
America’s No. 1 Children’s Museum” by Parents Magazine, winner of Nickelodeon Parents’ Picks “Best
Museum in Houston 2009 & 2010,” Click2Houston’s “Best Museum 2010,” the Children’s Museum of
Houston is a Citysearch.com’s nationwide 5-star children’s museum. It is dedicated to transforming
communities through innovative, child-centered learning with a vision to spark a passion for lifelong
learning in all children. Founded in 1980 and housed in a whimsical building designed by internationally
acclaimed architect Robert Venturi, the Children’s Museum of Houston offers a multitude of innovative
exhibits and bilingual learning programs for kids ages birth to 12 years. The Museum serves more than
1,100,000 people annually and operates as a 501(c)(3) under the direction of a Board of Directors. It is
located at 1500 Binz in Houston’s Museum District. Admission is $9 per person and $8 for seniors 65
years and older and for members of the military. Children under one and Museum Members receive free
admission.
Free Family Nights are offered Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. courtesy of the Houston Endowment, the
Wortham Foundation, Inc. and the John P. McGovern Foundation. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from Noon to 6 p.m. The Museum is
open at 9 a.m. on the Second Saturday of every month for Museum Members. The Museum is closed
Mondays but open on Federal Holidays, during Houston Independent School District’s Spring Break and
during the summer months from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, please visit www.cmhouston.org
or call (713) 522-1138. The Children’s Museum of Houston is A Playground for Your Mind™ Can your
mind come out to play?™
ABOUT INSTRUCTABLES®
Instructables® is a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and
how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with others. The seeds of Instructables® germinated at the
MIT Media Lab as the future founders of Squid Labs built places to share their projects and help others.
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