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A Place for 

Makers and Inventors

 Why We're Here

Gadget Lab is a place for kids and adults to learn with and teach each other about hardware, software, gadgets and the  world around us. We approach the world using scientific inquiry, asking key questions like, “How does that work?” and “What’s going on in there?” We build things, we take things apart and we aim to create a culture where we create and upload instead of just consuming and downloading.  

 

Our Approach 

While our students build a resume of skills, the emphasis at Gadget Lab is joy - the joy of discovery, the joy of learning and the joy of making something yourself. Our programs are fun but we don't back away from offering a challenge. Learning to face frustration and find the rewards on the other side can foster a lifetime of confidence and an understanding that achievement can take effort. 

We offer all this in a low pressure environment where mistakes are welcome and embraced as part of learning process but also as part of a path to self acceptance.  Take a look at this site.  Check out  our What We Teach  page and don't hesitate to contact me with your questions.

Karen Giacopuzzi, Gadget Lab Owner

Karen@GadgetLab.org

Our workshops offer both skill building and opportunities for personal expression

Solder A Cookie

Find  Music In Everyday Objects

Make A Ukulele

Design A T-Shirt

Make a statement

Take Something Apart

   What We Teach

What We Teach

Gadget Lab operates under the premise that our homes are a laboratory of joy and learning. While we sometimes use 3D printers and computers, our main goal is to find the magic in ordinary things, then tear them apart and see how they work. Our workshops are divided into three primary categories:  GadgetHeads, CodeHeads, Arts and Design.  Short format workshops offer a variety of  one  or two day workshops on various topics. 

Our core  workshop series are listed below but we add other topics when we find a great instructor with something to share.

All workshops have a "Screentime" rating and include a list of the skills for a Tech Resume where kids keep track of what they've learned. They can use this resume  for summer job applications or for bragging to the relatives.

Circuits and Engineering

In GadgetHeads workshop series offers fun hands on activities that teach about the physical world  of circuits and their components. The overall theme of GadgetHeads is "Robots, the inside story". We learn about motors, circuits and batteries then make our own robots in the CodeHeads workshops. 

GadgetHeads

Our core hands on workshop. Learn soldering and circuit building. Take things apart!

GadgetHeads Prep

Learn about magnets and circuits. Take things apart!

Circuits Circuits

Solder, splice and prototype a variety of circuits. 

EngineHeads

Learn about the inner life of Internal Combustion Engines. 

Circuits & Engineering Home
Coding
Coding Home

Our CodeHeads workshops use both drag and drop code blocks and typed code to make things happen in the physical world. You'll make lights flash, motors spin and can even make music using a buzzer.  Our workshops are built around age appropriate projects that use the same coding techniques you'd learn in a high school or college course but with an emphasis on coding circuits so you'll have time with your eyes off the screen as you make something fun. 

Make a Museum

Find a topic you’re passionate about and make an interactive museum exhibit.

Digital Sandbox

Start with code blocks to  create code that works with buttons, LEDS and  sensors on a pre-wired board, then transition to typed code to control circuits you build yourself. 

Sampler

 Write small programs that make lights flash, motors spin and take input values from distance sensors and remote controls.  

RC Robots

Build and program an original remote control robot. Add personality with hacked toy parts.

Game Module

Make a game module in cigar box  while you learn about the C++ language.

Arts and Design

Arts & Design Home

At Gadget Lab we see no reason to separate the worlds of Art and Science.   The science of sound, the joy of making music and the thrill of crafting a working instrument all belong under the same roof.  We also include art and design made by hand and by digital tools.   Check out our workshops below and come back because we keep adding more. 

Ukes & Amps

Make a beautiful,electric ukulele and amplifier using cigar boxes and your new carpentry skills.

Write a few songs and go home a musician.

Art With Claire

Paint, draw and collage an original zine with artist Claire Kalala.

Keep it private or share it with the world.

Music Discovery Lab

Make an instrument with musician Jason Mullinax, learn music production and explore the science of sound.

2D and 3D Design

Design and make your own T-shirt with an original logo. 3D print a mini house and more. 

OUR TEAM

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Instructor, Owner
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Circuits, Engineering
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Instructor

"I could not have been happier with GadgetLab. My 8 year old son was excited to go to each session and came back happy and thoroughly engaged with each new project they made. A+"

— Wendy Spillane, Parent

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