california academy of sciences - CRAFT NIGHT!

Tonight my roommate and I went to NightLife at California Academy of Sciences in SF. For those who don't know, NightLife is the Academy's 21+ event every Thursday night. I was super excited to go to this one because it was craft themed!!

Besides checking out the usual exhibits and displays, we visited a mini craft market with a bunch of arts and craft vendors. The coolest part was "African Hall," a hall filled with African wildlife dioramas, being transformed into a DIY paradise. Crafting among zebras and cheetahs was such a unique experience!

Crafting among African wildlife!

Craft station #1: Sewing with conductive thread

It's this hip new thing (well, new-ish) called soft circuits, basically involving sewing electronics into fabrics. To make a complete circuit between a battery and LED, we used conductive thread and metal snap buttons. See more soft circuit projects here: http://makeprojects.com/c/Soft_Circuits

Once we snapped these "bracelets" around our wrist, the circuits were completed and LEDs lit up! We will probably never ever wear these.

Craft station #2: metal stamping. I've been wanting to try metal stamping for awhile, but didn't want to invest in a stamp set. 

After I got home, I added some contrast by filling in the indentations with Sharpie, and then using an alcohol wipe to wipe away the excess Sharpie.

Finally, the highlight of my evening - baby ostriches! 51 days old!