Is it possible that all those hours playing Minecraft will lead your child to a lucrative career? With the right guidance, all that screen time may pay off! In partnership with our companion site, STEM Kids Chicago, we're present with Chicagoland's most comprehensive guide to STEM and STEAM camps. Whether they are in elementary school, middle school, or high school, these camps can ignite your child's passion for science and technology or fan the ... [ Read More ]
2018 Summer STEM Camp Guide
What started as a small list of Chicagoland camps that focus on helping kids acquire science and tech skills has grown into the area's definitive guide to Chicago's summer STEM camps. Kids can build robots, learn coding (computer programming for us old folks), and make things explode at these great camps. With our list of 30+ coding camps, science camps, and more we've got your back when it comes to finding a great science or tech camp for your ... [ Read More ]
Winter Break STEM Camps
There's a chill in the air. Jack Frost has relocated to Chicago and will soon be nipping at our noses. That means winter break is just around the corner. While a change from the everyday routine can be nice, it's still important to keep kids active and busy. We've partnered with several of Chicago's leading STEM education providers to bring you a directory of science and technology-themed winter break camps that will keep your kids engaged and ... [ Read More ]
STEM Camps for Girls in Chicagoland
Maker Mom readers tend to know the facts about women's under-represtation in STEM careers. It's an issue an many levels, but part of the issue is the so-called STEM pipeline. We need to get and keep girls interested in STEM now so that there will be a supply of highly qualified women who are poised to take advantage of lucrative career and STEM leadership opportunities later. This is especially true in areas like technology and physics. For some ... [ Read More ]
I Stand with Ahmed. Um, Can My Kid Get a Scholarship to Space Camp Too?
A few years ago the Young Maker Teen happened upon Nootropic Design's defusable clock and asked to get the kit. In our post-Columbine, post-9/11/01 era, I was wary of a clock that looks like a bomb. I warned him that even if I did buy the kit, he'd never be able to take the completed fake clock bomb out of the house for fear of it being mistaken for a dangerous device. I always suck the fun out of things. In the end, he did not pursue the ... [ Read More ]
Manufacturing Engineering Camps
My office isn't the only thing I'm cleaning this summer. I'm also digging into a virtual pile of old half-written blog posts saved in my "drafts" file. Let's just say there might have been more unpublished posts than there are bones in my body. There's no need to provide a heads-up on an interesting STEM event that took place two years ago, but I did find a few diamonds in the rough, like this bit on Fabricator's and Manufacturers Association ... [ Read More ]
Summer STEM Camps Near Chicago
This guide to Summer STEM Camps Near Chicago is updated for 2017! Don't miss these special discounts from our 2017 STEM Camp Guide Sponsors on our sister site, STEM Kids Chicago. What started as a small list of Chicagoland camps that focus on helping kids acquire science and tech skills has grown into the area's definitive guide to STEM camps. See The Maker Mom's hyperlocal companion site, STEM Kids Chicago, to find events and classes for ... [ Read More ]