Eli Whitney Museum

If I had a hammer...

The hammer is one of civilization’s first and most universal tools. Hammer is derived from an ancient word for stone, as in Stone Age.

The hammer is one of the first tools you must master to MAKE things. Its skills require practice. Its applications are many.

Join us for a day devoted to the art of the hammer. Construct games created to teach you good hammer posture and coordination and safety. Construct a small tool box for your own hammer, safety goggles and nails to take home.

Then sample the world of hammers. Chip stone with a geologist’s hammer. Carve stone with a mallet and chisel. Shape leather with a Saddler’s Hammer. Smith iron with a cross peen hammer. Chase copper with a jewelers hammer.

Chose a hammer art project to finish the day.

With an affectionate nod to Pete Seeger who at 91 has been singing his Hammer Song for 64 years.

* MAKE is O’Reilly Media’s Magazine, online exchange and store, and Maker Faires that have become a cultural epicenter of artists, artisans inventors and scientists devoted to independent experiment.