During The Bad Idea Factory one of my students enthusiastically announced that he wanted to build a foundry. Cue visions of 19th Century Manchester with large crucibles pouring extremely orange glowing metal into a form shooting sparks everywhere. You know, this. "That sounds dangerous ... and fun," I replied. "Do you know anything about molding metal?" "No." "Do you know anyone who knows anything about molding metal?" "No." "OK, well if you're going to take this on, we're going to need to find someone who can help." "Can't we just figure it out from the internet?" "Maybe, but I think we're going to need some guidance." From my experience last year, I decided that a mentorship element would definitely help my students find more success in their 20% projects, so I'm now making it a requirement. The mentor's role wouldn't be a huge time commitment. They would per...