community making in marin county and san francisco

During the past four weeks, over 370 students ages 7 to 17 have taken part in a TinkerTech STEM class or camp in Marin County and San Francisco. An additional 40-plus students will join us over the rest of the summer. What are they learning and how did we get here?

Skill building through projects

In the classes and camps that range from one-hour workshops to full-day one-week camps, students explore making with technology through hands-on projects that range from programming robots to CAD design. They work independently and in small groups, learning engineering and coding skills that they explore through their own projects.

A large part of the curriculum for students ages 12 and up is entrepreneurship, where students learn the basics of taking an idea through product prototype to manufacturing and the marketplace. They are guided by instructors who are Computer Science or Engineering graduates supported by high schoolers who are key members of robotics teams or who study STEM subjects at college. In addition, students in our Entrepreneurship camps have the chance to meet guest speakers from industry and local small business.

Strength in community partnerships

This rich learning environment does not happen without the many partnerships we have been able to build over the past 10 years since TinkerTech started with one after-school class through Larkspur Recreation.

This summer, the majority of our students will attend the classes for free. As we celebrate our biggest summer yet for numbers of students reached, I would like to thank the TinkerTech teaching team and all the organizations who have helped make these programs happen.

BACR in Marin and San Francisco, the NBT Foundation, PMMI, BirdBrain Technologies, the Friends of Marin City Library, Karma Club, Marin County Office of Education, Marinwood Recreation, Novato Recreation, Greg Berguig at Pac Machinery and the Marin IJ that will visit our Marin City camp this week. Thank you for enabling and celebrating the creativity and innovative ideas of these young students in Marin and San Francisco. Your support is truly appreciated.

Photographs from this summer’s camps and community events: