Even if you aren't interested in what I'm doing and what I want to accomplish, maybe someone you know is, and if you spread the word, boost the signal on this, they'll hear about it and be glad you said something.
Yes, yes, I'm still talking about OctopodiCon and it's Kickstarter.
OctopodiCon, for those of you who don't follow me and don't know what I'm talking about, is mostly a 3 day science festival/convention with a strong steampunk theme.
I say mostly because it's also a monthly Tea that shares science, culture, engineering, literature, skills, art, and activities for free to all attendees. That includes the tea and cookies.
While we are focused on getting the penultimate event of OctopodiCon accomplished - the 3 day festival/convention to be held October 5-7 in Oklahoma City - the past year of organizing and talking to people has showed us that what we are doing is much vaster than the main event.
The Teas, for example, attract people of all ages from all walks of life, and they get excited about building miniature dirigibles and learning about the different adhesives for crafting, and the intricacies of steam engines and remote controls, about crystal radios and making quicksand, about the secret codes the Victorians devised and how they can use them in their lives.
The main event is going to share all of that and more.
That "and more" is the Junior Sprockets.
The Junior Sprockets is the children's track of activities we've been developing for the main event. It's come to our attention, from several Girl Scout leaders who attended a couple of our Teas, and from people in other states who want fun science activities for their children, that the Junior Sprockets is going to be an organization of its own, with chapters elsewhere - and the kick-off of the national Junior Sprockets, with the manuals and activity books, will be at OctopodiCon.
If OctopodiCon happens.
Hence, the Kickstarter to raise the next level of funds we need. We need more than the $8,000.00 we're asking for on the Kickstarter - that amount will pay for the deposits on the site and the next phase of advertising. We've already spent $17,000 on it so far in fees, licenses, permits, deposits, advertising, and the Teas. If we don't make the next level of deposits, we lose the location we have and there's no time to find another one. That means the main event, the 3 day science festival/convention won't happen.
I can understand if this doesn't rock your boat, but maybe it does for someone who reads you and has never heard of me.
I have no illusions about my popularity - I'm a really small fish trying to make something important happen, something that will excite people about the sciences, about making and doing and being instead of just watching. Something that will jazz kids up about science, about engineering, about chemistry. We've got local kids excited to participate, and kids in other states, too. We've got teens and young adults who are seeing science in a new ad exciting light. We've got college professors willing to come to OctopodiCon to teach classes and to demonstrate skills for the younger kids as well as the adults.
Once we get this first OctopodiCon science festival/convention done, and prove that the interest and excitement we are seeing is really there (and it is!), we can tap into both the money we make from the entrance fees and receive grants from organizations that asked us to complete our first event before they would release funds to us (we're working on becoming a 501(c)3). We're in this weird catch-22 situation - we can't succeed without the funding and we can't get the funding until we succeed.
That's the reason for this kickstarter. It's a good way to let lots of people help just a little bit, and doesn't over-extend any one peson who wants to participate. And yes, I do know that it requires an Amazon account and some people object to that (I've encountered a couple). There's just 10 days left on this kickstarter, so it will all be over soon.
If this kickstarter succeeds, we will be back one more time to do a kickstarter for the final expenses we'll need: the printing (which ncludes the printing for the Junior Sprockets manul and activity book and maybe the first badges), the final advertising, and the transportation and fees for our headliner guests. That one will be the last one.
So, all I'm asking is if you could please boost the signal for the OctopodiCon Kickstarter?