MakerCamp
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Maker Camp becomes the after-school program you wish you had as a kid
"One thing we can bet on is that 'making' engages kids," Dale Dougherty, Maker Media founder told Engadget. Anyone that's ever been to a Maker Faire knows that's a solid wager. Children routinely crowd around booths and attractions at the event peppering proprietors with questions about how their devices work. They drag their parents to the marketplace to buy Arduinos, soldering guns, and DIY kits. Getting littles ones excited about science and crafts is easy when it's right in their faces, but then what? That was the question on Dougherty's mind, "what happens on the Monday following a Faire?"
Maker Camp 2013 kicks off six weeks of DIY fun for teens (video)
Ah, summer camp. Those halcyon days of imagining every creepy nighttime sound is a hungry, angry bear. Starting today, Google and Make (the brains behind Maker Faire) are launching a different kind of summer extravaganza with Maker Camp, a free six-week program open to Google+ users between the ages of 13 and 18. The online camp will offer daily DIY activities -- like a bike-powered phone charger -- with a live Google+ Hangout to discuss the project with expert makers. Additionally, campers will go on virtual field trips every Friday to places they otherwise might never see, like NASA's Ames Research Center. This year, Maker Camp will also include affiliate campsites at local libraries and youth centers, stocked with nifty gadgets like soldering kits, LEDs, Raspberry Pi boards and Arduino microcontrollers. For more info, check out the video after the break or register by following Make on Google+. Hungry, angry bears need not apply.
Maker Camp brings DIY fun to teens via Google+ Hangouts
Summer camp doesn't have to mean poorly ventilated cabins, boring activities and terrible food. In fact, put the concept in the hands of Google and Make, and there's not even a need to leave the comfort of your own home. The two have teamed up to deliver Maker Camp on Google+, a six week summer program designed to encourage kids to embrace their inner maker. The sessions will run every weekday starting July 16th. On Mondays through Thursdays a new set of instructions for the teen participants to tackle will be posted on Google+, then, in the afternoon, a counselor (often one of Make's own editors) will hold a Hangout to discuss the project and let the campers share their photos, videos and thoughts. Every Friday Make will host "field trips" via Hangouts. There's no need to register and no fee, the only requirements are that you be between the ages of 13 and 18, and have a Google+ account. Check out the videos after the break and the source links for more info.
