As a child, Carlos Macias made a hobby out of inventing his own toys. "I preferred [inventing] to playing or swimming," he says of a childhood full of the explosions, splatters, and sparks of invention. When other children asked to buy his inventions, the young creator offered instead to show them how to make it. While his ethic hasn't made him rich, it has made him a minor celebrity among kids who consider him a modern-day wizard. Mama Tierra, the science workshop he founded in 1992, helps make dreams come true. His mission is twofold: To introduce kids of all ages to recycling and environmental technologies like solar energy and to teach them to experience creativity firsthand, to reach for solutions rather than expect easy answers. If a child can describe it, Macias usually can help
