Here at Hive NYC HQ we aren’t above falling prey to some of the holidays’ most enduring clichés (see our holiday card for proof). So in the spirit of the season may we present to you our Hive NYC Top 10 Moments (events/experiences/stuff…) of 2011!

Honorable Mention: This was one action-packed year for Hive NYC.  For a more extensive run-down of our molecular phase shifts, read this.

10. Hive youth in both New York City and Chicago got their own column on Huffington Post High School!  A new home for all the world to see what our youth are learning and making and thinking. Here are links to the first four stories: Sharon Mizrahi, Matthew Byrd, Dominque James, Tonya Ingram.

9. Hive relocated to the do-it-yourself maker paradise of Gowanus, Brooklyn. Specifically we joined the Brooklyn Creative League, an awesome collaborative work space that caters to non-profits, freelancers and other professional odd balls.

8. Mozilla Executive Director Mark Surman joins our member meet-up at the American Museum of Natural History. Mark shared his vision and reasoning behind Mozilla teaming up with Hive NYC and got inspired by the community and the energy in the room. After the meeting he also joined us for a fun night of socializing and pontificating.

7. Hive NYC invades the Digital Media & Learning Conference. For the second year in a row, Hive NYC brought a strong presence to DML including a demo at the Science Fair, a Hackasaurus workshop, Dave Carroll/Diana Rhoten and a “mediatrician” on a panel about youth and media, and of course Global Kids leading about 8 panels! Hive was represented by members from MOUSE, Eyebeam, Parsons, Global Kids, Bank Street College, NYPL and NYSCI.

6. Earth Day Hack Jam. Teaming up with NYSCI, Hive held its biggest and most successful hack jam centered around themes of Earth Day. Mashing-up Hackasaurus, virtual worlds, digital photography and Sharpies, middle-school youth made some amazing things and taught Hive some valuable lessons that we still follow. Read more about it here.

5. Emoti-Con Hive NYC Youth Committee. This was the first year for Hive to be formally involved in Emoti-Con, a youth media festival run by Global Kids, MOUSE, NYPL and Parsons. While the event was a stand-out moment for us, the highlight was the Hive youth committee that formed to help plan the day, gave Hive advice and helped choose the name Hive NYC! Big thanks to Jess Klein, Barry Joseph, Marc Lesser, Monica Harriss and Michael Foster for their leadership on this.

4. Girls Write Now meet-up. Not only did we get to see GWN’s space and hear about their amazing programs but we welcomed a plethora of new members as the meeting came right after a growth spurt.  We also started an important discussion about what it means to be a member of Hive NYC. See the map of our 38 current members here.

3. Hive NYC participates in the Bring To Light Festival. Partnering with the fine folks that bring you NYC’s version of Nuit Blanche, Hive NYC members City Lore and Urban Word teamed up with youth to remix poetry, visual art, software and performance. Watch the videos of the performances by Hive freelancer Julia Vallera.

2. Hive London Pop-Up at the London Mozilla Festival. An awesome example of what Hive NYC and Mozilla can do together. DreamYard, Radio Rookies, and Institute of Play joined other youth organizations from Chicago, San Francisco and England to help Hive design, manage, and run a two-day youth creation festival that demonstrated the power of a Hive Learning Network. We created, made, remixed, networked, talked, planned and learned from all the participants. The experience also helped us model how we demonstrate and share our process with the world under the guise of the Hive Pop-Up Experience. For a first-hand perspective, check out our former intern Helen Lee’s take on the experience.

1. Winning Editor’s Choice Blue Ribbon for Hive NYC booth at World Maker Faire. For the second year, Hive NYC had a space within World Maker Faire hosted by Hive member NYSCI. This year we decided to start planning early and as a community, as we brought together youth and professionals from Global Kids, MOUSE, DreamYard, Radio Rookies, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Hackasaurus, City Lore, Museum of African Art, Brooklyn Public Library and The Point. This collaboration helped us have a diverse, cohesive, fun and educational…and oh yeah…AWARD WINNING experience! Check out our complete recap of Hive at Maker Faire. 

Thank you to everyone that played a part in these memorable moments.  We look forward to many more in 2012!