Maker Day Camps offered in Krause Pedagogical Innovation Lab in August

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Registration for four separate Maker Day Camps at the Krause Pedagogical Innovation Laboratory (PIL) in the Penn State College of Education is currently open.

Each day camp will be themed around a different maker project. Participating campers will practice and create a project while learning new skills over the course of a day. At the end of the day, the goal is for all participants to have a completed project they can take home as a demonstration of their newly acquired knowledge.

“The definition of a maker is simply someone who creates — a simple definition until you get to the word ‘creates,’” said PIL Director Clayton Gardner. “The act of creating can be one of the most difficult tasks a person can undertake. The process of taking a mental idea and transforming it into a physical or digital creation can be a complex process. It can take a lot of time, effort and knowledge to recreate what you are envisioning in your mind. The skills involved in this process are not always intuitive for students, and the goal of these camps is to teach students skills that not only make them better makers but creators as well.”

The camps, designed for children ages 10-13, will take place Aug. 5-8 at the PIL at 202 Chambers Building and cover four separate topics. Students will remain on campus all day, but students are to bring their own lunches and are asked to avoid products including major allergens such as peanuts. Allergy-safe snacks and water will be provided, however.

Parents may drop off their child(ren) in the Chambers Building atrium between 8:30 and 9 a.m. with pickup at the same location between 4 and 4:30 p.m. each day. Campers can register for individual days at $40 per camper or can register for all four sessions and receive a discount.

The four camping days are as follows:

August 5 — Crochet Creativity

Participants will learn to create and take-home crochet items. Yarn crafters of all skill levels are welcome, and no prior experience is necessary. 

August 6 — Paper Quilting as a Storytelling Technology

This one-day making camp intensive will explore different ways quilting has been used in cultural storytelling practices through a hands-on making workshop. Participants will learn and create paper story quilts to take home.

August 7 — Custom T-shirt Studio: Making Digital Designs a Reality

This one-day camp will explore the basics of graphic design through the lens of creating a custom t-shirt and vinyl sticker. Students will learn about basic graphic design theory and use Canva to design their very own shirt to take home with them.

August 8 — Mud and Masterpieces: Basic Hand Building and Modeling With Clay

This one day making camp will explore the basics of hand building ceramics with air dry clay and how to sculpt using modeling clay. Participants will learn the basics of ceramics and how to design with ceramics in mind.  Students will leave with two hand sculpted projects from the camp.

“These single day maker camps are designed to have your child flex their creative muscles while learning new maker skills,” Gardner said. “We hope that through this experience students will walk away with an experience that encourages a creative mindset, learning new skills, and a desire to transform their ideas into reality.”

Registration

Registration for the Maker Day Camps is available online. The registration deadline is July 30 or whenever all available spots are filled, whichever comes first. Those with questions or seeking more information can contact Gardner via email at cjg5546@psu.edu or by phone at 814-865-2535.