The 2013 season of the Young Makers program is expanding to three host organizations (“Hubs” for short) in three regions: the Lawrence Hall of Science for clubs in the East Bay, The Tech Museum of Innovation for clubs in the South Bay, and The Bay School of San Francisco for clubs in San Francisco and the North Bay.

Meeting dates (and themes) are:

• Lawrence Hall of Science: January 19 (Cities), February 16 (Games and Toys), March 16 (Bikes), and April 20 (Tiny, as in nano tech).
• The Tech: January 12 (Robots), February 16 (Flight), March 16 (Wearable Tech), and April 13 (Music).
• The Bay School: January 26 (Ideation and sketching), February 23 (Protoyping and documenting), March 23 (Fabrication), and April 13 (Exhibition).

To participate in this year’s program, fill out the registration form and select the hub nearest you. You can find more details on ways to participate here.

You will be guaranteed access to the region you register for. You can also attend events in other regions if space permits.

While we conceived the program for more mature youth (typically ages 12-17 who can pursue an ambitious project independently with support from adult mentors), we have been pleasantly surprised by the results of some projects made by younger children. Many Young Makers projects are collaborations between children and parents, with the balance of effort shifting from the parent to the child as the child becomes older and more experienced. A dynamic that we’ve seen work is to let the Young Maker be involved enough in the project vision and execution that they feel ownership of the project, with parents pitching in where necessary to accomplish trickier or risky elements (such as the use of power tools). If you feel that your child would enjoy such an experience, we encourage you to register and plan to attend the first few meetings. That should give you a good opportunity to see if the program is a good fit for your family.

The program is a non-profit effort run largely by volunteers who generously give their time toward the goal of inspiring and developing the next generation of makers. However, there are significant financial costs that we need to cover, so we are asking those who can afford it to donate. The suggested donation is $75 per family. We of course welcome donations in any amount. Donations above $1,000 will receive special recognition as an official sponsor on our website. Donating is easy and tax deductable — just click on the Donate Now button: