10 More Awesome Weeks: Fall into Maker Camp After School

Our popular Maker Camp Makey grabs its backpack and goes to school with a new program that takes our summer fun year-round.

After four successful summers, today Maker Camp launched a whole new lineup of projects for our free, online project-based program for kids! Starting now (yes, right now!), young Makers can continue the summer camp experience with a new, special project, video, or field trip every week, all hosted by Make:.

This season starts not with a bang, but a BOO! Our first project is an easy-to-make booby trap. Step on a rug (cleverly hiding a Pressure Plate Switch) to activate a spooky LED ghost. Tune in next week for another surprisingly simple project that’ll put the fright in your night in a snap.

The Maker Camp After School program aims to keep kids inspired and making throughout the year. Dale Dougherty, who came up with the idea of Maker Camp four years ago, got us going on this expansion by saying, “Making shouldn’t end just because summer’s over.” So true! Having a year-round camp is all about getting kids involved in making every day. Affiliates, parents, teachers, and kids themselves have been knocking on the Maker Camp cabin door wanting this for years. We’re so excited to be able to share it with you now!

Our summer camp program has reached over 1 million users since its launch in 2012. You can keep on building projects and going on epic virtual field trips with us, and you can do so from anywhere. Join us from home, your mobile device, or stop by any of the local spaces that have signed up to be a force of making in their communities. We’re aiming the projects at kids age 12, give or take a few years, but every week we offer up ideas for making the project easier or harder, in case you’re just getting started or already got some mad skillz.

Remember, no matter what you make, we want to see it on the Maker Camp community page! 

To learn more about the After School Maker Camp program, to become an affiliate, or to register for free as an individual, please visit the Maker Camp site. And be sure to head to Maker Shed if you’re interested in purchasing a Maker Camp materials kit.