We were in Calgary last weekend for a buildathon with STEM Learning Lab (opens in a new window). Around 25 West Island College students attended to help out, of whom only three had soldered before. But they were such brilliantly quick learners that by the end of the day, they had built 17 LipSyncs together.

Above: A group of students building LipSyncs

Although the students worked in teams, an 11-year-old named Isabel built a device all by herself! She’s the youngest person yet to build a LipSync.

Above: Chad Leaman, our Director of Innovation, with Isabel, the 11-year-old whiz

Our speaker at the event was Mike, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (opens in a new window) (ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease). He has been inventing a range of devices to help him increase his independence.

Mike brought with him his newest prototype, which is designed as a forklift for plates. It allows him to pick up a plate, put it into a microwave, take it out, and then bring it to his foot-controlled feeding device.

Above: Mike with his daughter, Maya, alongside his prototype

For more photos, please view our Facebook album (opens in a new window).