Makeshop™

A creative space to play with ideas, explore materials, and tinker with tools.

Children's Museum of Pittsburgh

Announcing: The MakeShop Show!

Hey kid-makers, there’s a new website just to show YOU how to make cool projects! Use your creativity and things you have at home to make cool stuff like pillowcase pajamas and real furniture out of rolled newspaper. The MakeShop Show is a new online maker hub for kids ages 6-10 packed with project videos, resources, downloads and bright ideas to create…

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Making Messes

It seems that no matter who I work with, whether it’s with a fellow educator or a little kid, my work spaces end up looking like the above two pictures. Sometimes having a mess can help you be a little more creative. -Kevin

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How do you make a doorbell?

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Harrison comes to the Museum frequently and he absolutely loves tinkering in the MAKESHOP. He tells us about the projects he’s worked on at home. He also shares his ideas for projects that could happen at the Museum. This particular day, Harrison decided he was going to try and make a doorbell for his sister’s room. This was a pretty…

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Made in MAKESHOP

The staff at the MAKESHOP has been collecting videos of visitors explaining what they made and reflecting on the experience that they had.  It is always interesting to hear what inspires, intrigues, engages or teaches our visitors.  We will be sharing these as we get them, so watch out for them.

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Made in MAKESHOP

The staff at the MAKESHOP has been collecting videos of visitors explaining what they made and reflecting on the experience that they had.  It is always interesting to hear what inspires, intrigues, engages or teaches our visitors.  We will be sharing these as we get them, so watch out for them.

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Rideables Competition is now open!

Micro Grants of up to $5,000 are available to support programs that engage Youth Makers, children aged 7 to 17, in the hands-on design and production of objects that respond to two themes: Wearables and Rideables.  The Wearables competition ended last week, but there is still a chance to apply for the Rideables competition! The Rideables grant submissions will be…

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Rowan’s Electric Car

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Rowan and his grandfather are frequent visitors to the Museum. They’re the kind of visitors who typically spend most of their visit in one exhibit. This particular day they decided to spend over an hour tinkering in the MAKESHOP. Rowan helped me assemble a new circuit block for other visitors to enjoy. I often find that it’s good practice to…

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Youth Alive: Craft Stick Explosions

Pardon the wacky camera work in the videos above and below. I’m for giving the camera to the kids and letting them have a chance to document a project. We decided to let our the students from our after school club, YouthALIVE!, play around with creating “craft stick explosions”.  They really seemed to enjoy it. I always like the change of…

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MAKESHOP Maker Micro Grants

Last month, we challenged artists, makers, and organizations to propose projects for the Wearables competition of the MAKESHOP Maker Micro Grant program.  These micro grants will help programs and organizations to provide youth with meaningful making opportunities. We received many creative and innovative projects from a variety of individuals and organizations.  We were incredibly impressed with the projects and thankful…

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FrankenToy

What happens when you give an eleven year old and his mom a bunch of random toy parts? Well, they create something extraordinary, funny and… creepy.  It’s always fun when visitors visit the MakeShop to simply tinker around with whatever we have to offer.  This particular mom and son duo experimented with reassembling various toy parts.  It was funny! The…

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