You + Skallops = Awesome

Chickenblog wants you to have a new toy, a fresh toy, an American toy, a Make toy that is both fun and super exclusive. It's all part of our Maker Faire excitement, and our love of S.T.E.A.M.M.

¡Skallops :: Skallops :: Skallops :: Skallops :: Skallops :: Skallops :: Skallops!

Curious? We sure were curious, when we walked into the expo, and discovered tables covered in cards, laser cut pieces, and fantastic creations. It's typical of Maker Faire, when you find something interesting, you'll find a creator, a maker, a tinkerer, who says, "Try this! Check 'em out. Want to Make something?" We jumped right in!

In seconds, I made a hat. Skallops were turning out to be simple, fun, easy to use, yet loaded with potential. Nice.

Skallops are scallop shaped semi circles, laser cut to precisely hold playing cards... and the rest is left to your imagination, hence the limitless possibilities! All of the fun of building a house of cards, or a card castle, or a nautilus, or a biplane, or a double helix of DNA, but without the aggravation of instability. Just look at what they've built!

In an entire Faire of marvelous sights and activities, the Skallops booth ranked right near the top, especially with Max and Maria. That's saying a lot considering they saw Adam Savage, and cupcake cars!

Max stood back for a while, in his quiet, observant way, but the cool guys from E & M Labs gently persuaded Max to succumb to temptation and build whatever he was imagining. Max accepted the invitation, eagerly.

A Skallop Skooner?!
William, loving his brother's creations, joins the fun.

And where there are ships, there are fish!

So, the story goes... when Marshall was a boy he wanted to build a house of cards, but he had an even younger brother, who was more interested in collapsing house of cards creations. Marshall designed and made his Skallops... thwarting his little brother's plans, and sparking an inventive future, which is pretty cool, I think.

The next day, we were right back at the Skallops table, even passing our early admission time helping them set up their tables for the Maker Faire masses. Max's help and enthusiasm were rewarded with his very own Skallop Team Shirt. And he continued churning out really cool creations, like a spider, and a scorpion, this bird.

Eclipse of the sun, Dalek, and Skallops biplane = trifecta of awesome!
Skallops sent us home with something for You! Chickenblog has a brand new box of ready to go Skallops, and we are very excited to be sharing this wonderful tool for your own ingenuity. We like Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Music, and Math, and when we can spread the joys of S.T.E.A.M.M., while celebrating our Chickenbloggiversary... bonus!

¡Skallops Giveaway!

Leave a comment, here on Chickenblog, and your name will be added to the fez. Link to us on your FB page, and we will add your name two more times! It's about supporting a start-up, American entrepreneurship, and bringing a fun toy into your life.

I like the mission statement at E & M Labs...

Our mission is to make scientists and engineers.

Scientists and engineers are not made in universities. Universities polish them off, but universities don't make them.
Instead, scientists and engineers are made when everyday people discover how the world works.

The problem is that today, all the stuff that's out there has its magic hidden away—either in computer code locked up in a chip or as a gearbox, sealed inside an opaque piece of injection-molded plastic.

We believe that there's a better way.

We believe in making products that put the magic at your fingertips, so that you get a first hand exposure to, and an intuitive understanding of, how things work.

Because that's how scientists and engineers are made, and that's how we're going to make the future.

-Evan Murphy & Michael Woods

So yeah! Comment! You may win a free set of S.T.E.A.M.M.y Skallops!

On May 30th, we will pick a name out of Max's fez!