The Maker Methodology: Katie Rast at TEDxAmericasFinestCity

Katie Rast is the Director of Fab Lab San Diego, and has worked with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop the San Diego instantiation of the Global Network of MIT Fab Labs. Since 2007, Katie has managed Fab Lab, a community-driven invention space, and has developed and deployed a suite of educational programs for youth and adults focused on innovation, ideation, creativity and STEM education.

Katie has been an evangelist for the Maker Movement for the past six years, and remains dedicated to the belief that practices related to applied learning and invention benefit education, innovation, and economic development. Upon realizing the potential that came with the ability to "make almost anything", Katie turned her interest in healthy communities and successful students toward the integration of 'making' into project-based learning, workforce development, and the creation of a local innovation ecology.

This summer, Fab Lab San Diego implemented programs in City Heights, El Cajon and Southeast San Diego for young adults with the Workforce Partnership, deployed a K-8 STEM education program in partnership with YALLA through the Department of Education Refugee Children School Impact grant, produced a flagship hands-on innovation summer camp for middle school students at La Jolla Country Day with the UCSD K-16 STE[a+]M program, curated a Hardware Innovation panel at SD Tech Week, and hosted a 'Maker Bootcamp' for adult innovators and entrepreneurs.

Katie is currently working with La Jolla Country Day to develop a year-round innovation program that integrates next generation technology such as laser cutters and 3D printers into the curriculum. MIT has sent the Mobile Fab Lab, an invention studio on wheels to San Diego, and it will reside at La Jolla Country Day for nine months as a resource for the school as well as an outreach opportunity to the greater community.

As a part of her ongoing efforts to grow the local maker community, Katie is co-producing the first Maker Faire in San Diego, a showcase of local innovation and creativity, set to take place on December 7, 2013 at Del Mar Fairgrounds. Katie has also worked with UCSD K-16 Programs as the Consulting Director of the STE[a+]M Program, aimed at integrating science and arts into college preparatory learning. Additionally, she collaborates with UCSD TIES and other groups working with technology-based projects and platforms that assist first responders in humanitarian assistance/disaster relief settings.

About TEDx
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)