From The Achieve Foundation of South Orange & Maplewood:
The Achieve Foundation is gearing up for Maker Madness 2023 and we invite all families to join us on Saturday, April 29th from 10am-3pm as we celebrate everything STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math). This FREE, don’t-miss event is open to all and we invite you and your children to experience all that Maker Madness has to offer.
Started in 2015 as a way to encourage students throughout the district to have a chance to satisfy their scientific curiosity and spend a day of hands-on learning in a fun environment, Maker Madness has welcomed hundreds of children and their families to participate in fun and educational activities, provided free of charge by Achieve, our volunteers and local businesses and educators.
Join Achieve at Columbia High School (17 Parker Avenue in Maplewood) for a wide array of activities at 20+ maker stations where you and your kids can participate in a community LEGO build, design & build a robot, join newscasters of tomorrow at our TV studio, create a morse code bracelet; share your artistic talents on our graffiti wall, try out some magnetic poetry, play our Giant Piano and so much more! We’ll also have some returning favorites including a Tear Down Station, Meet the Bees, and the parking lot will be alive with our iconic BUBBLES! Machine. There will be plenty to see and do so please plan on spending some time with us! And please note that we ask parents to accompany their children to this event.
Thank you to our event sponsors including the SOMA 3D Printing Alliance (Inventor), SOMEA (Builder) and PSE&G (Designer), our station sponsors (including many from our local MAPSO community) as well as our Sustaining Sponsors. Their generosity and commitment to Achieve allow us to offer this event to everyone in the community. Thank you so much.
Repair Cafe Joins Maker Madness! We’re also happy to report that the Repair Cafe, sponsored by SOMA Two Towns for all Ages (somatwotownsforallages.org), has joined forces with us and will be onsite at Maker Madness from 12-3. Volunteers will be providing all kinds of repairs – sewing/mending, woodworking, fixing small electronics, bikes, jewelry; even sharpening knives. The Repair Cafe was started as a movement to fix things vs. throwing them out and we are happy to support their mission and help provide their services during Maker Madness.
Volunteers Still Needed! It takes many hands to put on a successful event. If you or your teen have a couple of hours to spare on Saturday and want to experience the value of volunteering with Achieve, please go to our sign up genius https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d4aafaf2ca02-maker#/. No experience needed; just a desire to help out and have fun!
The Achieve Foundation of South Orange & Maplewood is a registered 501(c)3 organization that promotes high-quality education that prepares South Orange-Maplewood School District students for the future. We support our students, families and educators by addressing inequities, inspiring innovation and fostering community. Since 1999, Achieve has invested over $4.5 million for programs that support public education in our two towns. To learn more, please visit achievefoundation.org.
