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At times it feels like the activities I do and the articles and videos I create really do not make much of a difference and then yesterday two great things happened. First a picture of a model plane that I had built and was flying appeared in the Model Aviation magazine which is the magazine that most people that build model planes subscribe to. This was part of what it said:

'In honor of free flight models, I included a photo of a Guillow's Flyboy Rubber aircraft built by my friend, Bill Kuhl, in this month's column. Bill is a great booster for our hobby. His excellent website draws kids into science and aviation by showing how fun and exciting technology can be.'

This is a video I created of the model plane flying: Video of Flyboy

And then I received this email from someone that had built my mousetrap car for a school assignment:

'Hi Bill,
Just thought you would like to see the completed car. It works great. Wheels are a bit wobbly and it curves a bit, but I think that it is super! It took...3 1/2 hours to make. But it was lots of fun for the kids and us. Wine helped. haha.
Enjoy the video. We are all a bit slap happy.'

Thank you! Today was rather special too as my website had over 600 views yesterday for the first time. I am hoping to break over 1000 views in one day sometime. Bill Kuhl

How wonderful, Bill. You know of course you impact so many- or maybe I should say won't know just how many lives you positively impact over the course of your life's work. But it is nice to be recognized once in a while. How exceedingly lucky we are when our passions and life works are one in the same. Let us know when you have those 1000+ hits in a day!

Thank you Carolyn for your comments. I am afraid my passion and my work are not the same, I am a network administrator and the science projects are a hobby. Sometimes I get paid for teaching a class but more times not. I use the Google Analytics just to find out what people are interested in, not to market to them. I find some of the articles I have created there is almost no interest, so I remove them at some point and try something else. The majority of the interest is in mousetrap cars, with what I have made available; a general information article, a plan article which is very detailed, and two videos. It is my hope that this information will give students enough background that they can design their own successful mousetrap car. It was my hope when I started the website I could also get students thinking of the future such as in careers and alternative energy, so far those articles have not been very popular. But I keep trying, Bill Kuhl

Congratulations Bill. This is so very exciting. It's awesome when something that you have done, out of pure enjoyment, gets recognition by many. Kudos. LA

Lorrie, Thank You for your response. I have been working on a couple of other projects for future articles, model wind turbine and model catamaran sailboat. I observed a LEGOS robotic competition this weekend, might have to purchase one myself. Bill Kuhl

That is awesome, Bill. Too often our accomplishments are overlooked. Congratulations and keep up the good work.

Thanks Eileen, I tried to stay pumped up on what I am doing and there are days I wonder who really cares. For one group that I give classes for the local newspaper ran a full-page color story about their Recycle Racer event at the local fair in a city of 100,000 people. There was mention of the science project classes, when the next one was and contact information. Guess how many people that inspired to come to the class the next weekend. Yes ZERO. It seems that it has to spread by word of mouth. Bill Kuhl

Bill, please, never under estimate the influence you have on the lives students. Mine for one, have found your website and projects enlightening. I understand what you are feeling, because many of us go into our classrooms day after day wondering the same thing. I am in the middle of my 21st year as a middle school teacher. Thanks to Facebook, I have been able to get in contact with my very first students and am finding that indeed, I did make a difference. Many are now doctors, scientists, teachers, successful parents, leaders in their chosen fields. Several have chosen to go against their family and leave gangs, break cycles of abuse and become the parents to their children they wish their parents had been for them. Truly, I believe we leave footprints on the hearts of those we teach, and while I may never know exactly how my passion for learning and the hobbies that I have shared has influenced them, nevertheless I have been a force in their lives. I encourage you to keep on doing what you love because you love it.

Thank you so much for the inspiring words.

Another resource I created is the wiki I had created as a suggestion from Edutopia.

Wiki
Bill Kuhl