With a splash of digital pink, the Adair Family, the Von Trapps of apps, brings Thingamingo, Inc. to our 2013 event to showcase their intergenerational inventiveness. Ann and her husband Jon founded Thinkamingo Inc in late 2011, and share a bit here, about how they made app development an all-family effort.
“We homeschool our two children, 
Elizabeth, 13, and William, 9,” explains Ann. “As the President, I handle the business tasks, social media, content development, and other odds and ends. Jon is our Vice President and Senior Developer. We wanted to keep our startup costs low, and Jon, a master developer, tackles all of the graphic design and programming. The kids have important roles, too. Elizabeth is our Junior Developer and future patent attorney. William is on the Creative Team and tests a lot of apps. We have the luxury of not having to outsource anything.”
Ann and Jon bring some diverse backgrounds to the development process. Ann holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees, has taught graduate studies in 20th-century/post-tonal music analysis as an adjunct instructor, and her primary occupation the last 25 years has been bassoonist, pianist, or music director. Jon has a background in computer science and was working on large enterprise software projects before starting Thinkamingo, as well as experience in photography and graphic design.
Now one year down the road, Thinkamingo has published 12 apps across a range of topics, from educational to entertainment. Their Story Dice app, around which they’re focusing their TBMMF exhibit, was featured by MAKE Magazine’s Mark Frauenfelder on National Public Radio and on BoingBoing.net.
Thinkamingo’s Junior Developer, Elizabeth, will be on hand at the Faire to talk to kids, specifically, about building apps. She knows whereof she speaks, too! Elizabeth made and presented an app at a Microsoft Hackathon, she’s a FIRST robotics team member, and a Girl Scout, to boot.
Thinkamingo will be showcasing two projects going at the TBMMF.
Flash Fiction with Story Dice, where participants will use the Story Dice app and create a short story on a souvenir card they can take with them, and a Group Fiction Project, where participants can contribute a sentence to an ongoing Mini-Maker Faire-y Tale to be featured on the Thinkamingo website in April.
The Adairs will also be providing at least one workshop at the Faire to help Makers “Spark your Creativity”!
We’re delighted the Thinkamingo gang is joining us at Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire 2013, and can’t wait to see the stories that develop!
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“Under the roof of The Concourse in Hudson, a celebration of innovation and the DIY culture is under way on a sunny Saturday in March. Mini Maker Faire exhibitors and attendees are largely indistinguishable. From the very young to the very old, participants flow through together, engaging each other and all the wonderful things their minds can conjure up. It is human creativity on full display, just waiting a chance to play.” Mitchell Brown, Tampa Mini Maker Faire: Nirvana 4 Geeks & Nerds
