Inspiring the next generation of makers

Maker Camp is a place where kids are engaging in all kinds of making. We're building things. We're painting things, we're coding, we are engineering. We are making games that are beautiful as well as functional and making can mean so many things and every kid is a maker in some way. This week we are making a board game for a cat so we are making, like, a Hollywood set and it's the cats versus the humans. So they play against each other, and there is a series of challenges that they go through, and it is stuff that cats are still able to do. It's been really cool learning how to use the ChompSaw and, like, all the, like, different materials that I don't really normally use. Each team of kids has two college students who are working with them. They are their maker mentors, which is not just teaching them how to make things, but also teaching them about the design process. Like you get a lot of help. I thought we were just sort of, like, doing this all on our own. But like our mentors are like helping us by creating, like, chomp stuff and stuff like that. These middle schoolers are so smart. They know, like the basics of electricity. We went over that and they were answering every question like it was nothing. And like most kids were able to answer them. I hope they leave here with a great deal of confidence in their own creativity and in their own ideas, and in their own ability to learn new things and build new things.

impact 1:47 Inspiring the next generation of makers

By:

Chase Parker

4 Aug 2026 71

Middle school students spent the week designing, building, coding, and creating during Maker Camp at University Libraries at Virginia Tech. Through hands-on activities and teamwork, campers explored new technologies while discovering the joy of making unique games.

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