AnnMarie Thomas

Twin Cities Friends:
More details to come (when it's officially announced) but the evening of Wednesday, April 8, I will be leading a magical fundraiser for a beloved Twin Cities nonprofit. Please clear that evening if you want to join in the fun :)

The majority of organizing happening in Minnesota isn’t just peaceful, it’s INVISIBLE. Moms showing up who won’t be interviewed on TV, people whose ICE patrols don’t turn into viral video. The grocery runs, the donations, the people filming bc they happen to be there. Please remember this.

I am so proud of my home state of Minnesota and the people in it who are working together to take care of their neighbors.
I’ve been away from BlueSky for a while… please recommend local MN accounts that are good to follow for mutual aid and volunteer opportunities.

Help a journalist out? I'm looking to talk to researchers, engineers, students or entrepreneurs who are considering leaving the U.S. because they lost funding or are worried about visas or anything like that. I'm at mimsical.94 on Signal

I was able to keep mine only after I applied for (and received) emerita status. Otherwise access would have gone away after (I think) 6 months.

With Covid vaccine decisions, RFK Jr. unleashes an unfettered assault on public health RFK Jr.'s unilateral decision to revise Covid booster guidance represents a bulldozing of safeguards, our columnist writes

My take:

With Covid vaccine decisions, RFK Jr. unleashes an unfettered assault on public health

The Trump administration’s actions undermine good medicine and good governance

www.statnews.com/2025/05/28/r...

Congrats to #okgo on their beautiful new album. Also- so grateful for their shoutout to the Playful Learning Lab in the liner notes. (The lab may be closed, but it’s so fun to see these little reminders of all the cool stuff we did in that ~15 year period. )

Painting at sea… #OceanX

2 days at sea down, 18 to go. (On the OceanXplorer transiting from Walvis Bay to Mindelo.)

WATCH: Tommie Educators Knit Custom Hats for Students - Newsroom | University of St. Thomas Emma Monson ’22 asked her fifth-grade class to design winter hats. The students had no idea that she would knit their designs into reality.

The Playful Learning Lab may now be a memory, but the former members are out in the world doing INCREDIBLE things. Check out this amazing hat project done by teacher extraordinaire, and PLL alum, Emma Monson! This project is so cool. news.stthomas.edu/watch-tommie...

I recommend sticking with the book. While that might have been a mistake, it may also have been author intentional. (I finished this book and enjoyed it.)

Absolutely agree. Especially for people with unusual careers.

Related: many people try to answer this question with an answer that seems more linear than their career paths may have been in the moment. It’s natural to try to form a coherent storyline when looking back.

Congrats to my friends OK Go on their amazing new single and video (out today ). Reminder that OK Go Sandbox is a great way to explore STEAM with your students or kids! Www.OKGoSandbox.org

Freelance consulting and contract work, mostly in STEM/STEAM education.

To be clear, I left on good terms and am happy/proud of what my students and I accomplished. I just realized I was exhausted and a bit burnt out and wanted to leave academia on a metaphorical “high note.”

I’d be curious to see similar data for engineering. (I left my academic position, and closed my lab, after 17 years. I’m hearing from other women doing similar things in engineering.)

Occasional reminder that there’s no, “it’s too late, its over” for anthropogenic climate change. Every molecule of CO2 that doesn’t go into the atmosphere makes a difference. Preventing 0.1 degree of warming makes a difference. Every bit of climate resilience we build together makes a difference.

YouTube video by CreativeMornings HQ AnnMarie Thomas: More Threads Equal More Possibilities

This fall I was asked to give a talk at @creativemornings.bsky.social Minneapolis on the topic of “thread.” I’m pretty proud of how this one turned out (it was a new prompt for me) and I even got to add a magical twist… youtu.be/zjJ3dtlj4r8?...

I’m spending the next two days at Space Camp, which is something I never thought I’d do. Best part… seeing some friends (now fellow campers) that I haven’t seen in years.
First up.: the multi axis trainer.

Space camp!!!!! With @maryrobinettekowal.com @1lenore.bsky.social and lots of new friends!

Recommendations for family friendly hotels in Paris? Ideally close to metro and fun things to do. Simple, but fun?

Teenage me adored the tv show SeaQuestDSV. This past year with OceanX has, at times, felt like living in that show (minus the drama, mutiny, and aliens.)

There's TWO days left to apply for the SEEKCommons Fellowship, dedicated to building pathways for horizontal collaborations across Science and Technology Studies (STS), Open Science (OS), and socio-environmental researchers and community organizers! Apply now: seekcommons.org/fellowship-a...

Just committed to going to Space Camp next year. In the realm of impulse decisions I’ve made in the past few years… this one feels perhaps the most ridiculous, but I am so excited.

Perfect. Thank you!

Thanks!

Where can I buy pandan leaves (ideally fresh and dried) in the Twin Cities?

(2) at the New Interfaces in Musical Instruments Conference: "Co-Designing Haptic Instruments With Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children" (Authors Rabia Malik and collaborator Lloyd May) [https://lnkd.in/gh6BSYj9]

(1) in the Journal of Science for Students with Disabilities: "A Summer Class Exploring Computer Science with Educators of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students" [https://lnkd.in/gG_3yjqu]

The Playful Learning Lab may be closed, but that doesn't mean the impact it had is over. We have TWO papers that were published this fall that had PLL authors! Both involved the lab's work with Metro Deaf School.