young makers

Aaron Vanderwerff Named “Inspirational Teacher of the Year”

Aaron Vanderwerff Named “Inspirational Teacher of the Year”

Oakland’s Lighthouse Community Charter School is turning out some great young makers. If you attended Maker Faire this past week you might have run into Lighthouse students displaying a solar-powered scooter. (It started out as a go kart, but someone stole the chassis) and an EV truck project. The school’s teachers are no slouches either. This week one of the students’ instructors, Aaron Vanderwerff, was named “inspirational teacher of the year”

Why Educators Love Maker Faire 2013

Teachers love Maker Faire because they see how much it means to engage their students as makers. For Teacher Appreciation Week, we want to salute educators who bring the Maker movement to kids in schools and in after-school programs. We believe making has the power to transform education and develop the potential of every child to create and innovate. Getting making into schools can be difficult so we’re particularly happy to applaud the efforts of pioneering educators who are leading the way. It’s important that these pioneers realize that they’re not alone.

Maker Faire as Learning Lab

Maker Faire as Learning Lab

We’re delighted to announce a new addition to this year’s Maker Faire educational offerings: a Class Pack filled with behind-the-scenes information and activity sheets designed just for you: teachers and parents who look forward to Maker Faire as your favorite learning-packed weekend of the year! Whether or not you are coming to our sold out Education Day on Thursday, May 16, take a peek for materials that you might want to use in your classroom. We’d like to share some of the special treats you’ll find in this 38-page bookl

Maker Scouts: Tell Stories

Maker Scouts: Tell Stories

For young makers, making is more than learning how to use a particular tool or a technique. It’s experiencing the power of a material, technology, or tool as a language of self expression. It’s PLAYING with different languages and experiencing the magic of connections that is made when what you have made makes someone laugh, cry, or wonder.