The Young Makers program connects young people (typically ages 12-17) with adult mentors and fabricators to create opportunities for kids to dream up and develop projects for exhibition at Maker Faire each year. We encourage kids to develop projects based on their own interests and ideas. Past projects have included a pedal-powered trolley, furniture that doubles as a hamster habitat, a fire-breathing dragon, a seesaw water pump, an animatronic galloping horse, and a mobile spy camera. We all work together to create a collaborative culture of creativity, innovation and experimentation. In addition, we bring program participants together for monthly meetups to explore different kinds of making and to talk about their own work in progress. In the Young Makers program, there are no winners and losers; the focus is on exhibition, not competition, and just like Maker Faire, anything that’s cool is fair game.

New to the program? We suggest starting with the About page, then moving on to the How to Participate Page.

Please help us grow

The program is a non-profit effort run largely by volunteers who generously give their time toward the goal of inspiring and developing the next generation of makers. However, there are significant financial costs that we need to cover, so we are asking those who can afford it to donate. The suggested donation is $75 per family. We of course welcome donations in any amount. Donations above $1,000 will receive special recognition as an official sponsor on our website. Donating is easy and tax deductable — just click on the Donate Now button:


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