Make: magazine announced the launch of its fourth annual Maker Camp today. Maker Camp, the free 6-week virtual summer camp, is for young Makers interested in DIY, making, creating, crafting, hacking, tinkering, and learning. Intel joins as a first-time presenting sponsor.
“People always come to us and ask how their kids can get involved in making, so we’re excited to offer another year of Maker Camp,” said Dale Dougherty, executive chairman and founder of Maker Media, founder and publisher of Make: and co-founder of Maker Faire. “Our goal is to inspire as many kids as possible to try new activities and build something of their own. We want to provide them with opportunities to explore, create, and tap into their making potential.”
Maker Camp takes some of the most memorable experiences of summer camp and organizes them online so that young Makers across the country can join in. Campers participate in projects, field trips, and counselor-led experiences from anywhere including: home, mobile device, or such local community spaces as the public library. Past field trips have included virtual visits to LEGO, Google, NASA, The Smithsonian, the White House, Pixar, and CERN. Since its initial launch in 2012, Maker Camp and its affiliates have hosted over 1 million attendees across the United States, with over 50,000 campers in just 2014 alone. Maker Camp counselors encourage kids to upload and share what they’ve been making with other campers around the world. Some of the most prolific campers live in Israel, Jordan, and India, as well as South Africa and Australia.
While many participate online, the affiliate program allows campers to meet up in-person and work on projects together. In 2014, there were 500 Maker Camp affiliate locations, including public libraries, community centers, 4-H Clubs and Intel Computer Club Houses, with the expectation for that number to double in 2015.
“Intel is proud to support Maker Camp and the community of young Makers. We know they are the innovators of the future,” said Jay Melican, Maker Czar, Intel Corporation. “It’s important to us to empower youth so they can continue to learn, grow, and eventually be the minds behind the companies and ideas that change the world.”
Maker Camp 2015 begins July 6 and runs for six weeks, until August 14. This year’s themes include: Far-Out Future, Flight, Fun and Games, Fantasy, Funkytown, and Farmstead, which will challenge every participant to learn new skills across a wide range of interests. Maker Camp registration opens Saturday-Sunday, May 16-17, at Maker Faire Bay Area, where kids can get started making over the weekend with hands-on activities. One of the featured activities at the Maker Camp area at Maker Faire this weekend will be the popular Strawbees construction kits where kids can build almost anything with straws, the Strawbees frames and unlimited imagination.
To learn more about Maker Camp, to become an affiliate, or to register for free as an individual, please visit the homepage atMakerCamp.com.
About MAKER MEDIA
Maker Media is a global platform for connecting makers with each other, with products and services, and with our partners. Through media, events and ecommerce, Maker Media serves a growing community of makers who bring a DIY mindset to technology. Whether as hobbyists or professionals, makers are creative, resourceful and curious, developing projects that demonstrate how they can interact with the world around them. The launch of Make: magazine in 2005, followed by Maker Faire in 2006, jumpstarted a worldwide Maker Movement, which is transforming innovation, culture and education. Headquartered in San Francisco, Maker Media is the publisher of Make: magazine and the producer of Maker Faire. It also develops “getting started” kits and books that are sold in its Maker Shed store as well as in retail channels. The Make: brand caters to a universe of more than 25 million makers collectively across its Make: magazine, makezine.com, Maker Faires, and Maker Shed properties.
