Maker Education Movement
The Maker Education Movement is an initiative dedicated to empower K-12 schools in the greater Philadelphia region to embrace and advance maker education. Launching in 2025 with the Maker Education Summit and NextFab Design Challenge, the Maker Education Movement aims to prepare students to thrive in a dynamic, innovation-driven world.
Maker Education Summit
March 3, 2025
The Summit is one-day professional development workshop for 25-50 educators from public, private, and homeschool associations, hosted at NextFab, a professional makerspace. Breakout sessions include hands-on making experiences and interactive presentations like Makerspace Safety and Makerspace Economics from reputable speakers.
NextFab Design Challenge
July 7-10, 21-24, and August 4-7, 2025
Based on a successful pilot event, the Design Challenges are a series of three affordable and equitable 4-day hackathons for high school students, hosted at NextFab. Competitors will fabricate and pitch prototypes to judges. Winners receive a month-long membership to NextFab and support to file a provisional patent, if applicable.
Our Team
An Nguyen, PhD
Founder
A consulting company dedicated to advancing education and innovation inside and outside of the classroom.
Robert Nardi
Sales Manager
A professional makerspace dedicated to helping people find their passion, develop skills, and turn ideas into reality.
Ashish Badjatia
Executive Director
A charitable organization dedicated to entrepreneurship education and maker initiatives.
Expected Impact
The Maker Education Summit will engage educators serving diverse populations, while the NextFab Design Competitions ensure equitable participation, providing students from all backgrounds with access to tools, training, and mentorship. The demographics of the seven targeted public school districts are shown below, with charter, private, and homeschool groups also invited.
85%
MINORITY ENROLLMENT
60%
ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED
At each event, feedback from teachers, speakers, and students will be gathered to continuously enhance future experiences.
support the movement
Please Donate
Our fundraising goal of $25,000 will cover operational, programming, meals, and speaker stipends for the Maker Education Summit, as well as the scholarship, venue, technical support, materials, and other expenses for all three NextFab Design Challenges.
