Ages 8 to 10
Young Makers
Bridges, marble runs, simple machines, and first circuits. Real tools, close supervision.
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Airdrie Maker Lab
A community workshop in Airdrie where children aged 8 to 15 build real things with real tools.
Hands-on STEM around here costs about $200 a term, which quietly decides who gets to do it. So we let every family choose what they pay — including nothing at all. No application, no proof of income, no questions.
Open Bench
Four options, one of which is zero. Nobody is asked to prove anything, and nobody teaching your child ever finds out which one you picked.
You can cover your child's place and help hold one open for a child who otherwise could not come.
The full price of a place. What most families pay.
Money is tight, and putting something toward it matters to you.
Cost is a genuine barrier right now. Everything is covered, including materials.
Programs
Bridges, marble runs, simple machines, and first circuits. Real tools, close supervision.
Engineering design, CAD and 3D printing, structures, electronics, and robotics.
Digital fabrication, product design to pitch, a community challenge, and a capstone build.
How it works
Children do not need a busy lesson. They need a real problem, decent tools, and an adult who will let them get it wrong before helping.
Children use real materials and real tools to make robots, structures, circuits, and prototypes.
Everything gets tried, and most of it breaks first. That is the part where the learning happens.
Makers explain what they built, what they changed, and what they would do differently.
What kids build
Every project gives a child something to hold, test, improve, and explain to someone at home.
Robots and moving machines
Structures that have to hold weight
3D design and printed prototypes
Circuits, soldering, and practical problem-solving
Why some kids pay nothing
A place costs about $132 to deliver. Families who can, pay it. Families who can’t, don’t. The Open Bench Fund covers the difference.
Schools and community partners
Curriculum-aligned hands-on engineering delivered in your building, with the equipment, the materials, and the records you need for a report.
Create a family account to enrol, or write to us if you would rather ask a question first. We answer every one.