by Stephanie Grimes, Director of Curriculum
At the Digital Harbor Foundation (DHF) we are so proud to have been chosen as a Maker Corps Host Site for the second year! We had an amazing experience with Maker Ed and our Maker Corps Members in 2013 and can’t wait to host four more Maker Corps Members this summer!
Our mission at the Digital Harbor Foundation is to foster innovation, tech advancement, and entrepreneurship by helping youth develop digital age skills through maker activities and tech workforce development. In January 2013, we re-opened an abandoned Rec Center, located in downtown Baltimore just a few blocks from the Inner Harbor, and converted it to a Tech Center full of computers, 3D printers, Arduinos, and much, much more!
This summer, our Maker Camp program will offer two different camps – “3D Printing: Bring Your Designs to Life” and “Electronics: Make Your Own Gadgets with Circuits” – for middle and high school aged youth. Other maker activities and skills will be developed and incorporated into each of these two-week camps.
Maker Corps Members posted at Digital Harbor Foundation will work closely with our team to implement daily activities related to our themes for Maker Camp as well as help us to craft programs which will run in future programs at the Tech Center. Maker Corps Members will help to supervise youth and work directly with them 5 days a week during each of the camps.
Outside of the camp experience, Maker Corps Members at DHF will also have the opportunity to work with experienced Tech Center Members to create their own passion project with some of these outstanding youth.
At the end of each camp, we host a public Maker Showcase where campers will highlight and share their work from the camp with families, friends, and visitors. Our Maker Corps Members play a huge role in these events in helping to prepare the youth to share their work and talk confidently about their projects.
Between each of our camps we have a week of non-programming when the whole team will have time to work together to plan activities for the upcoming camp and explore new topics that could be implemented in future programs. During these weeks, Maker Corps Members will help to shape the curriculum, brainstorm activities, and create new projects. Digital Harbor Foundation staff will provide training, leadership, and additional support to make sure that our Maker Corps Members are getting the most from their experience here at the Tech Center.
We are seeking Maker Corps Members who bring enthusiasm, youth development experience, a passion for technology, flexibility and a tendency toward iteration and improvement to our team. Folks who are passionate about making and hands-on learning will feel right at home in our space.
By the end of the summer, our Maker Corps Members will have helped to craft new programs and projects for the youth who work at the Tech Center, worked side-by-side with youth to create something they are passionate about, built a strong portfolio of maker projects, piloted an expanded 3D printing program, had a lot of fun, and worked with some AMAZING Baltimore youth!
Maker Ed is delighted to welcome back Digital Harbor Foundation as a Maker Corps Host Site for 2014. Applications for all Maker Corps Members will open Monday, February 3, and close on March 21. Click here for more information, and to apply. – Nancy
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