YML is a makerspace for kids, offering workshops in a variety of 21st century creative tools!
We are a makerspace for kids, offering workshops in a variety of 21st century creative tools and skills. Computer programming, electronics, video game creation, video production, and stop motion animation are all made available and accessible to your kids by our experienced staff and amazing technology.
Why Should Kids Make Things With Us?
With over 45 years of experience as educators between them, YML's owners Mark and Kris know that you don't need textbooks and worksheets to learn, and that some of the most powerful learning takes place when kids mix creativity and technology to learn and build. At YML, kids will write computer programs, design works of art that are printed out in 3D, build robots, tinker with machines and electronics, and create all manner of amazing things that we haven't imagined yet.
Through the process of making, math and science will be practiced and learned, instructions and reflective blog posts will be written, and all sorts of problems will be discovered and solved. Along with the strengthening of math, science, and communication skills, kids will develop their problem solving skills and build the kind of confidence that only comes with building challenging and amazing things.
Keywords: maker, kids, 3d printing, arduino, raspberry pi, tinkering, programming
Interview Q&A
How long have you been in business?
YML opened in the summer of 2014 as an offshoot of Digi-Camp (www.digicamp.com).
What is your primary product or service?
We are a makerspace for kids, offering workshops in a variety of 21st century creative tools and skills. Computer programming, electronics, video game creation, video production, and stop motion animation are all made available and accessible to your kids by our experienced staff and amazing technology.
Why Should Kids Make Things With Us?
With over 45 years of experience as educators between them, YML's owners Mark and Kris know that you don't need textbooks and worksheets to learn, and that some of the most powerful learning takes place when kids mix creativity and technology to learn and build. At YML, kids will write computer programs, design works of art that are printed out in 3D, build robots, tinker with machines and electronics, and create all manner of amazing things that we haven't imagined yet.
Through the process of making, math and science will be practiced and learned, instructions and reflective blog posts will be written, and all sorts of problems will be discovered and solved. Along with the strengthening of math, science, and communication skills, kids will develop their problem solving skills and build the kind of confidence that only comes with building challenging and amazing things.
How did you first become interested in your line of business? (if owner) - What is your background? (If owner or store manager)
Kris Swanson and Mark Stansell are teachers, makers, tinkerers, and creators of all manner of things.
How do you differentiate yourself from other businesses in your category and area?
Our makers actually make stuff - at our competition the "students" do simulations and don't actually make anything. We offer programming workshops that include a Raspberry Pi that the makers take home. We offer 3D printing workshops where makers create stuff and then actually print it and take it home. Our members can use any of the tools they have been trained in at any time - including 3D printers, vinyl cutters, screen printers, and laser cutters. At our competition students cannot do any of that.
How many locations do you have and do you have plans to expand?
YML is located in Boca Raton. Expansion plans are in the works to include the Wellington and Palm Beach Gardens areas.
Provide detailed directions to your location
I-95 to Yamato Road - east on Yamato to Federal Highway, then north to the Monterey complex. (It's the Melting Pot building.) Suite I
What type of payments do you accept?
We accept credit and debit cards, PayPal, cash or checks.
Who owns your company or runs daily operations?
Kris Swanson and Mark Stansell own and operate the business.
What are your hours of operation?
4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
What is the best compliment anyone can give you?
We signed up for the next workshop!
What is your favorite quote or Bible verse?
I see the power of engaging kids in science and technology through the practices of making and hands-on experiences, through tinkering and taking things apart. Schools seem to have forgotten that students learn best when they are engaged; in fact, the biggest problem in schools is boredom. Students sit passively, expected to absorb all the content that is thrown at them without much context. The context that’s missing is the real world. - Dale Doughtery, Publisher of Make Magazine
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