In the Tinkering Studio at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, a group of young people is making tiaras--light-up tiaras. Using copper wire, a soldering iron, batteries and LED lights, they use trial and error to build the kind of design they want. In the process, they start to figure something out. If you want all your lights to glow, you have to create a parallel circuit. A series circuit will not provide enough voltage. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has long supported making as a pathway to STEM learning outside of school. In 2005, NSF funded the Playful Invention and Exploration (PIE) Institute to increase the capacity of museum educators and exhibitors to design and implement technology-integrated inquiry activities for the public.To read further, please visit http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=131761&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click.