We often hear teens refer to summer as a “break,” but what does that mean? No homework! More time with friends and family. The beach, city parks, swimming! The opportunity to find a job, earn some money and make new friends.
We see summer as a perfect time for exploration, whether it’s checking out a new neighborhood you’ve never visited or pursuing a new interest. It’s also a time for making things, and there’s a LOT of making going on across Hive NYC Learning Network.
On July 11, 2013, teens were doing everything from printing 3D dinosaur bones at the American Museum of Natural History and making drawbots at Eyebeam Art + Technology Center, to engineering gears with straws, sticks and bamboo at Iridescent and fliming stop-motion animation with paper dolls at the New York Hall of Science.
This summer, we’re celebrating all of the amazing things we can make (and show others how to make too!) as part of Mozilla’s Maker Party, and as you can see from the map below, Hive NYC is throwing a city-wide party!

Here’s a glimpse into exciting programs happening in one day across Hive NYC member organizations:

Bronx Museum, “The People Make the Park”
Teens in grades 10-12 are creating audio podcasts that will be exhibited on Randall’s Island Park. Today they’re making plans for interviewing local artists, community members, activists, and professionals to help them tell the story of the park!
Iridescent Summer Camp
In this three-week program, students entering grades 3–8 are immersed in hands-on science and engineering. Today they’re designing shadow boxes with moving parts powered by gears, and when they put them all together and turn the crank, they’ll tell a story about flight.
The POINT and Global Action Project, SYEP Summer Camp Power Point
In this collaboration, teen activists from The POINT’s A.C.T.I.O.N. program will identify social and environmental justice issues facing Hunts Point, and will work with Global Action Project to produce media in response to these issues.
DreamYard Open Studio
DreamYard hosts open studio hours for the community, giving young people in the neighborhood the opportunity to use their resources and continue to hone new tech and art skills. Today they’re doing everything from designing clothes to making digital beats.
American Museum of Natural History: Capturing Dinosaurs: Reconstructing Extinct Species Through Digital Fabrication
High school students are connecting with their inner paleontologists as they learn about dinosaur fossils and how to make their own dinosaur models using the latest 3D capturing, modeling, and printing technology. Today they’re touring the museum and exploring 3D scanning techniques.

Eyebeam Art + Technology Center and World UP: Digital Day Camp
This program introduces students to hacking and remixing by creating digital and analog instruments out of recycled electronics, trash, and other materials. Today they’re creating Drawbots, simple drawing robots built from cups, markers and motors, as an exercise in “physical programming.”
New York City Writing Project: Youth Voices Summer Writing Program
Fifteen high school students and five teachers are using new technologies to publish their own digital stories, poems, essays, music, and videos on the Youth Voices social network. Today they’re working on writer profiles, using Google Drawing to create avatars, and writing one-paragraph bios.
Cooper Hewitt DesignPrep
In this free program, high school students learn about college and career opportunities in design through hands-on activities led by professional designers, studio visits and workshops. Today they’re visiting luxury jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels to watch designers and jewelers as they create timeless pieces.
Museum of Modern Art and Eyebeam Art + Technology Center: CLICK@MoMA: 3-D Printers and Artistic Hacking
Participants in this workshop are using 3D printers to create sculptural objects and explore ideas surrounding artistic hacking. It’s an inter-dimensional exploration without having to leave the city!
Bank Street College of Education: Summer Institute: Liberty LEADS
Over 40 students, ages 13 to 18, are participating in a variety of classes and activities, from writing and science to web design and chorus. Today, in the Web Design course, students are learning how to use Mozilla Webmaker tools to create new and remixed content on the web.
Groundswell: Summer Leadership Institute (SLI)
In this summer job training program, 100 young adults ages 14-24 divide into seven teams to work with professional artists and community-based organizations to create public art across NYC. Today in Brooklyn, Groundswell teen artists are planning how they’ll use art as a tool to transform an uninspiring underpass into an inviting gateway between the vibrant shopping district on Atlantic Avenue and the beautifully restored Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Museum of the Moving Image: Game Design Camp at BAM
Educators from the Museum are running a video game design camp at BAM this week, where students are learning basic programming skills to create their own games. Today they’re broadening the multi-sensory experience of game play by adding sounds to their projects.

New York Hall of Science: Makerspace
Today, NYSCI’s Maker Corps members are prototyping life casting with saran wrap and tape, and designing stop-motion animation activities using paper dolls and small toys. They’ll be cutting, pasting, clipping, filming and taping their day away!
To find more information about Maker Party, visit webmaker.org/party.
You can also find nearby events or add your own programs and parties here: webmaker.org/events.