Start Making!: A Guide to Engaging Young People in Maker Activities

Start Making! is a program developed by the Clubhouse Network to engage young people all over the world in Maker-inspired activities. With this guide, you will discover how to plan and coordinate Start Making! projects in your home, school, library, community center, after-school club, or makerspace. You'll learn strategies for engaging young people in creative thinking, developing individual and team projects, and sharing and reflecting on their creations.

Each session includes a list of the supplies you'll need, step-by-step instructions for completing the projects, and prompts for stimulating discussion, curiosity, and confidence. These fun do-it-yourself (and do-it-together) projects teach fundamental STEAM concepts -- science, technology, engineering, art, and math -- while introducing young people to the basics of circuitry, design, coding, crafting, and construction. They'll make paper cards and creations that light up, play music using a MaKey MaKey keyboard and Scratch programming, join together to make paintings with light, design and construct 3D sculptures, build a vibrating art-bot that makes drawings, and sew fabric creations with wearable circuits.

Dip into the activities once a week, run them as a week-long summer activity, or go through the guide in any way that works for you. By offering your own Start Making! program, you can inspire young people in your community to develop creative ideas, learn new skills, and share their creations.

The Clubhouse Network is a global network of community-based centers led by Boston's Museum of Science in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab.

• Electricity for Young Makers: Fun and Easy Do-It-Yourself Projects (Make: Technology on Your Time)
• Makey Makey - An Invention Kit for Everyone
• STEAM Lab for Kids: 52 Creative Hands-On Projects for Exploring Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (Lab for Kids (17))
• Make: Paper Inventions: Machines that Move, Drawings that Light Up, and Wearables and Structures You Can Cut, Fold, and Roll
• The Big Book of Makerspace Projects: Inspiring Makers to Experiment, Create, and Learn
• Tinkering: Kids Learn by Making Stuff (Make)
• Making Simple Robots: Exploring Cutting-Edge Robotics with Everyday Stuff
• Make: Tips and Tales from the Workshop: A Handy Reference for Makers (Make: Technology on Your Time)
• Making Makers: Kids, Tools, and the Future of Innovation
• Rubber Band Engineer: Build Slingshot Powered Rockets, Rubber Band Rifles, Unconventional Catapults, and More Guerrilla Gadgets from Household Hardware