Maker education is a creative way to help children become inventors. It stimulates thinking, practical skills and the heart. In Amsterdam, children can come to one of eight different locations of Maakplaats021, to learn everything about digital fabrication, join the maker movement and develop 21st-century skills. How do the children in the makerspace experience this themselves? And what do they learn from it? They are happy to share their experiences!

“Lasercutters and 3D printers are actually not very smart machines, because we have to tell them what to do and then they just do it.”

In the Maakplaats021, which is a collaboration between Waag, OBA, Hogeschool van Amsterdam and Pakhuis de Zwijger, children are learning to become inventors of their own creations.

At the newest location on the Java Square in Amsterdam, we started early in 2020 with a new series of lessons for children aged 8 to 12 where we discuss and experiment with various (digital) techniques. The children create their own designs from start to finish, with the goal of selling their creations at a local Makers Market. From recycled piggy banks to laser cut tiles, and from design to software to output; all steps have a place in the program. We worked with both software and machines, such as the 3D printer and laser cutter. While experimenting with the machines, the children become aware of their functions and how to use them. Are they smart, handy or stupid machines? Find out directly from the young learners in the Netherlands.