Historicizing+a+Project+EF

__MEMO: Historicizing a Project __

I feel like there are two narratives I need to work at historicizing: Both the narrative of the scientific community and scientists engaging the public and the narrative of amateur scientists/makers/tinkerers and their personal engagement with scientific information and scientific endeavors. I guess these two narratives weave in and out of one another.

Early 1500s – While in Basel, Paracelsus gives lectures in colloquial German as opposed to in Latin. This opens up his knowledge to the greater public so that can understand what he is doing as a medical practitioner, although supposedly the reasoning behind this was to upset the academy which had rejected him as a lecturer.

1828 – The Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia) opens its doors to the public

1921 – Radio Shack opens as a provider of equipment for ham radio amateurs and DIY tinkerers

May 12, 1930 – Adler Planetarium in Chicago, First Public planetarium in the Western Hemisphere opens doors

1982 -- Internet introduced in a more public manner

1993 -- World Wide Web made free for use by anyone

1995 -- Internet commercialized

2001 -- Global Community Monitor (Pioneering the use of Bucket Brigades) is founded

2005 – Arduino starts as a student platform for proto-typing interactive design projects in Italy.

2006 -- Instructables.org officially becomes a site spun out of Squid Labs, which is started by students of the MIT MediaLab

2006 -- The first TechShop opens in Menlo Park, CA

2009 -- The Grassroots Mapping community (which later becomes PLOTS) is founded

November 2010 -- DIY Citizenship Conference at U of Toronto

Fall 2010 -- PLOTS (Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science) becomes an organization for Civic Science

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">2010 -- DARPA MENTOR initiative solicited as a project to open DARPA funded Makerspaces in high schools https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=0248c338123e8b6f51d4dcf743196464&tab=core&_cview=1

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">2010/2011 -- TI LaunchPad Introduced as a cheaper competitor to Arduino

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">January 4, 2011 Local Community Radio Act of 2010 passes, lowering restrictions for local communities to obtain and run their own radiostations for communication and organization

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Nov 4, 2011 – Radioshack announces via blog that it will start carrying Arduino controllers and shields due to customer demand

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Possibly Focus on year 2012?? *DJ Focus brought to MIT, video for funding him focuses on making and innovation in low-income communities *Troy Incubator/Maker space decides on a space and begins to work on opening it up

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Spring 2013 -- Soft Opening of “Center of Gravity” in downtown Troy