Maker Camp is funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the generous support of the Members of Make: Community.
Family Maker Camp encourages making and hands-on learning at home. Making is fun and engaging for kids as well as adults.
What is making? It can be many things and use all kinds of materials and tools. Making is usually defined as a project shaped by your ideas and interests. Making is as much about the process of taking an idea and bringing it to life. Making integrates science and technology as well as arts and crafts.
Family Maker Camp provides inspiration, guidance and an opportunity to share what you do with others online. We have many projects that will help you get started and continue to develop new skills and a maker mindset.
Most importantly, Family Maker Camp will connect you with a community of makers of all ages who have a broad range of interests and skills. We will introduce you to makers online and have them talk about their projects and their process.
Play opens us to creative ideas and new experiences. While we play, we engage our bodies and our mind, and we often engage with others. While we play, learning feels natural and we can take risks to do things we didn't know we can do.
Ask questions -- who, what, why, and how. How are things around you made? Who makes them and where are they made?
Use your sense to experience the physical world all around you. What are the differences between the natural world and the built world?
Tools exist for all kinds of applications. Given an area you're interested such as bicycles or music, what are some of the tools, both physical and digital, that you might want to learn to use? Choose a new tool and share it with us.
Sometimes we decide that we’re not good at something and we never try to do it. Part of the DIY spirit is to try something you’ve never tried before, even if you’re not particularly good at it. Think of it as an experiment. See if you like it. Try cooking or gardening or playing a musical instrument. Or try to fix something that’s broken. Share this new skill.
You might design something that solves a problem — it could be a problem for you or a problem for others. You might build something that’s interactive such as a play toy, or a toy car or plane. Paper airplane launchers are popular, as are rockets.
Here are the five key competencies that we identified as outcomes for young people who participate in Start Making!
Start Making! A Guide to Engaging Young People in Maker Activities
By Danielle Martin and Alisha Panjwani edited by Natalie Rusk
Making Makers: Kids, Tools and the Future of Innovation
By AnnMarie Thomas
Make: produces a variety of great products and helpful project tutorials to enhance your making experience.