Gina Clifford, Author at GeekDad

ByteLight Solves Indoor GPS Mapping Problem With LED Lighting

January 8, 2013Gina Clifford

“We’ve taken something that’s been around since Edison and turned it into a way of transmitting information.” -Dan Ryan, CTO of ByteLight

Dan Ryan and Aaron Ganick, both Electrical Engineers, met at Boston University as undergrads. They became quick friends as they continued to bump into each other in class and around campus. Little did they know that a common childhood passion and a local science museum would play prominent roles in shaping their futures?

Streetlights Can Do That? An Entrepreneur Creates Smarter Cities

November 7, 2012December 13, 2017Gina Clifford

What do music, the iPhone and Hurricane Katrina have to do with streetlights? If you are Ron Harwood, everything. Ron is the inventor of Intellistreets, an LED street light system that goes way beyond simply lighting our streets.

Learn Robotics With GeekMom Kathy’s Simple Projects Book

October 8, 2012Gina Clifford

What are robots? How are they being used in the world today? How can kids make their own working robots? Where can you find parts? All this and more is covered in the book Robotics: Discover the Science and Technology of the Future by GeekMom Senior Editor Kathy Ceceri.

People-Power Lights 2012 Olympic Walkway

July 19, 2012Gina Clifford

When I first met Laurence Kemball-Cook he was showing me how he’d hacked a cheap AM-FM radio in his hotel room the night before. He rewired it to run off of kinetic energy instead of the batteries it was designed for. He also shared photos of LED bike lights he’d hacked together that provided superior lighting at a fraction of the cost of commercial bike lights. It was obvious that Laurence had a thing for lights. Really, though, his sustainable clean energy power generation invention is what makes his story interesting.

Inventor Mitch Altman, Electronics Jedi

May 31, 2012Gina Clifford

Long, flowing hair and an air of supreme confidence emanates from Mitch Altman, inventor of TV-B-Gone, as he enters the ‘Dark Side’ stage at the 2012 Orlando Mini Maker Faire on Saturday, May 27 2012. You can hear the Star Wars theme trumpeting in the background as R2D2 blinks and beeps–Mitch takes the stage.

Google’s Erez Lieberman Aiden – How the Human Genome Folds

April 26, 2012Gina Clifford

What do Ramen noodles, knots, and genome globules have in common? If you’re researcher Erez Lieberman Aiden, these are models for his groundbreaking research on 3-D mapping the human genome. At the end of the day, he shares advice and wisdom with aspiring young scientists. His connections to TED and Google lend a “cool” factor […]

TED-ED – TED Releases Cool Education Talks Aimed at Teens

March 15, 2012Gina Clifford

TED Talks are great learning tools. Famous for high quality presenters talking about the world’s biggest ideas, TED Talks inspire everyone–even children. Now there is a whole series of TED videos created especially for young people. The new TED initiative is called TED-Ed and promises to include teacher tools in a new website, coming in […]

TEDActive Makers Hack Art, Urbanization, and Kinetic Energy

March 6, 2012Gina Clifford

TED is an annual, global idea conference. TEDActive is the arm of the TED conference that engages thinkers and doers in projects centered on the TED Prize. What happens when an artist, an engineer, an inventor, and a technology guru at TEDActive put their heads together around the idea of urbanization? Talk turns to making […]

The Maker Culture is Reinventing Detroit

February 23, 2012Gina Clifford4

To be sure, Detroit faces uphill challenges as it fights poverty, unemployment, and a shrinking population after the massive downsizing of the auto industry. In the media, we all see Detroit’s vast vacant factories, poor schools, and despondent people. Sadly, these stories become Detroit’s story. However, they are just some of Detroit’s stories. They do […]

GM Brings Sci-Fi Closer to Reality With WOO

January 21, 2012Gina Clifford

For kids, riding in the back seat of a car is boring. We have all heard “when are we going to be there?” or “Mom, tell her to stop singing”. Enter WOO, the Windows of Opportunity project. With WOO, General Motors Research and Development paired researchers with students from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design […]

Chevrolet’s New Concept Coupes Combine Style, Performance, and Tech

January 13, 2012Gina Clifford

One of the most exciting unveilings at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan was Chevrolet’s introduction of two stunningly appealing but dramatically different concept cars. Because the new cars are still in the concept phase, they are not yet slated for production. However, they look like they were designed with production […]

Cadillac CUE’s up for Geek Moms

January 9, 2012Gina Clifford1

On Sunday, January 9t–the eve of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, Cadillac unveiled the new Cadillac ATS, a luxury car to compete head-to-head with BMW. The car is beautiful, especially finished in sinfully decadent metallic red. But is it appealing to a working mom? With its big wheels and aggressive profile, […]

Entire Cyberchase Animated Series Now Available Online

December 5, 2011Gina Clifford1

As a GeekMom, I’m extremely choosy about what and how much children’s television and online programming my child consumes. After all, time is my family’s most precious commodity. Therefore, when my child engages with children’s programming, it has to be great. I am delighted that the entire Emmy Award-winning animated video series, Cyberchase, is now […]

Ten Cool Companies That Rocked the IAAPA Conference

November 27, 2011Gina Clifford

IAAPA Attractions Expo, owned and produced by International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, is the world’s largest conference and trade show for the $24 billion global attractions industry. The future rides, attractions, games, and products of the world’s theme parks and attractions are well represented at this weeklong conference. Between November 14 and November […]

Ghosts, Books, and Coincidences

October 24, 2011Gina Clifford1

Founded in 1933 during the Great Depression, Haslam’s Bookstore is a “third place” for many people in the small St. Petersburg, FL community. Its owners share great stories with regular customers, celebrate local authors, and revel in helping people find books that sometimes change lives. Checking email on an iPhone and downloading the latest John […]

Legoland Florida: The Young Lego Geek’s Paradise

October 18, 2011Gina Clifford4

Like Steve Jobs was to Apple fans, Legoland Florida is to all of the young Lego fanatics. On Saturday, October 15, 2011, thousands of loyal fans from around the world converged on the grounds of the new Legoland Florida theme park for its grand opening. Legoland Florida did not disappoint. It was uncanny how passionate […]

Geeking Out With Theme Park Designers at SATE’11

September 27, 2011Gina Clifford1

When I told my nine year-old that I met the person who created the Clutch Powers Lego hero, he screamed with excitement. The true heroes of the theme park world (the people who dream up, design, and build our favorite themed attractions around the world) converged at the Ports of Call at Sea World in […]

Education Week: Child-Led Project-Based Home Learning

September 9, 2011Gina Clifford8

When J.K. Rowling released each of her Harry Potter books, young fans flocked to bookstores, stayed up late finishing the books, and then eagerly shared feelings and predictions about future books, characters, etc. with friends. These fans learned everything they could about J.K. Rowling’s fictional world on their own without prompting and in addition to […]

Legoland Florida: A Geeky Preview

September 3, 2011December 13, 2017Gina Clifford8

Legoland Florida officially opens Saturday, October 15, 2011, but I was lucky enough to get a recent behind-the-scenes tour. Prediction: Lego fans: Prepare to go crazy at Legoland Florida. First, the park is beautiful. Amazingly detailed giant Lego sculptures are everywhere. Secondly, the rides and attractions are highly interactive. We cannot wait to try out […]

Learning Through Legos: S.T.E.M. and Back Again

August 29, 2011Gina Clifford1

Legos are internationally cherished small plastic interlocking building blocks and minifigures that can be taken apart and used to build other objects. Over the years, Lego has expanded its creations to include products like gears and pulleys and even electronic parts for constructing programmable robots. As a result, there are popular Lego robotics leagues and […]

May the Force Be With Joe

August 15, 2011Gina Clifford9

What do Star Wars, The Lion King, The Matrix, the Batman movie series, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the Indiana Jones movies have in common? Joseph Campbell’s work was the inspiration for all of them. Actually, Joseph Campbell influenced many more great artists, musicians, and authors. J.K. Rowling (the Harry Potter series) and Christopher Paolini (the Inheritance […]

Collect Micrometeors During Double Meteor Showers This Week

July 28, 2011Gina Clifford7

The Delta Aquarids and Perseids meteor showers overlap in the coming days, providing several great meteor shower viewing opportunities. The National Geographic website has some great tips on viewing the showers. Beyond viewing, we are planning to physically capture some meteorites. Well, actually we are setting-up to capture micrometeors. We can’t wait to see what star […]

Google Breadcrumb: Slightly Geeky and Fun Mobile Learning Tool

June 13, 2011Gina Clifford4

According to a Microsoft infographic on the Digital Buzz website, there are four billion mobile phones in use around the world. Even more intriguing is that mobile Internet usage is on course to overtake desktop Internet usage by 2014. In addition, of those four billion mobile phone users, over 60% of them are using their […]

MoonBots 2.0: The 2011 Google Lunar X Prize Lego Mindstorms Challenge

May 19, 2011December 13, 2017Gina Clifford

What a cool way to spend the summer! Google has partnered with First Robotics and Wired Magazine to create an X Prize challenge just for kids. In this competition, kids build and program Lego Mindstorms robots while learning what it takes to win the Google Lunar X Prize. Although there’s bound to be some incredibly […]

Toe Shoes: Rethinking the Family’s Footwear

May 12, 2011Gina Clifford12

As self-proclaimed barefoot enthusiasts, our family embraced toe shoes as soon as we became aware of them. Invented several years ago by Vibram, toe shoes provide each toe with its own pocket. Additionally, there’s no cushion at all – just a bit of tread attached to a stretchy foot-conforming material and a hook and loop […]

Five Useful Computations With Wolfram|Alpha

April 4, 2011Gina Clifford

Wolfram|Alpha is best known as a free online computation tool for math and science. It can solve calculus problems while showing you the steps and it can show you how much a teaspoon of salt weighs. Wolfram|Alpha is to knowledge what Google is to information, but it isn’t a search engine – it’s a computation […]

Ten Geeky Facts About Shamrocks

March 18, 2011Gina Clifford

We grow a beautiful patch of white clover in our yard, and enjoy searching for the lucky four leaf specimens. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, my family is hosting a four-leaf clover hunt in our backyard clover patch. We won’t be picking them, but we’ll mark them with little flags. The family member who finds the […]

Celebrate Pi Day by Learning the Secret of the Circle

March 14, 2011Gina Clifford3

Hands-on projects are great learning tools for kids, especially when they involve the word ‘secret’. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Pi Day (March 14 or “3.14”) with kids than to help them unlock the circle’s secret and discover Pi! This fun activity uses common office supplies and household materials and is […]

Hip, Versatile Little Speakers are Perfect for Kids

February 28, 2011Gina Clifford3

The Chill Pill speakers sound pretty good, especially for their size, but that is not their biggest asset. These diminutive little marvels are packed with clever engineering touches that stir the inner geeklet. For starters, these pint-sized speakers are cool looking. A striking blue LED light gleams when you switch on the power, and the […]

Author: Gina Clifford