Imagine. Engineer. Invent. Build Something Extraordinary.

Every invention begins with an idea, a question, or a problem worth solving. In the Makerspace Workshop, students explore engineering, invention, and creative design through hands-on challenges that combine imagination with real-world problem-solving.

New for spring, the Makerspace Workshop meets every week, with more time devoted to each engineering challenge. Rather than rushing to complete a project in a single session, students investigate problems, experiment with materials, develop prototypes, test their ideas, and refine their inventions over multiple classes. The result is more ambitious projects, deeper learning, and more opportunities to discover what works—and what doesn't.

Throughout the semester, students explore structures, mechanical systems, electricity, motion, and interactive design. They'll work with a variety of tools and materials, learning how engineers and inventors approach challenges that don't have a single correct answer. Some projects emphasize individual creativity, while others require collaboration, planning, and combining different ideas into a working solution.

Students don't simply follow instructions to build predetermined projects. Instead, each challenge introduces a problem, a set of design constraints, and opportunities to develop original solutions. Beginners learn fundamental engineering concepts and construction techniques, while returning and more experienced makers take on increasingly sophisticated designs, additional constraints, and more complex building challenges.

• Explore engineering, invention, and creative problem-solving through hands-on projects
• Design, build, test, and improve original inventions and working prototypes
• Investigate structures, mechanisms, circuits, motion, and mechanical systems
• Learn to use tools, materials, and construction techniques safely and effectively
• Experiment with different approaches and discover how design decisions affect performance
• Develop creativity, persistence, collaboration, and practical engineering skills
• Create original projects and inventions that demonstrate what they've learned

Every challenge offers multiple ways to succeed. Students work at their own level, with opportunities to extend their designs, incorporate additional features, and solve more difficult engineering problems. New and returning students can participate together, and each semester introduces new opportunities to apply and expand their skills. All tools, materials, and supplies are included.

Spring Engineering Projects & Challenges

• Reach & Retrieve — Mechanical Engineering: Design and construct mechanical grabbers capable of reaching, gripping, lifting, and moving objects. Students explore levers, linkages, pivots, and mechanical advantage before testing their inventions against increasingly difficult retrieval challenges.
• Structures & Strength — Structural Engineering: Investigate how engineers design structures to support weight, resist forces, and remain stable. Students experiment with cantilevers, counterweights, bracing, and different materials before designing and constructing a freestanding museum display capable of supporting an unusual object.
• Circuits & Electricity — Electrical Engineering: Discover how electricity flows and how circuits can be controlled using switches, conductors, and electronic components. Students design and build original illuminated creations, progressing from simple circuits to more complex projects involving multiple lights, controls, and interactive features.
• Motion Machines — Mechanical Systems: Explore how movement can be created, transferred, redirected, and controlled. Students investigate wheels, gears, pulleys, cams, and linkages before designing machines that perform specific tasks or transform one type of motion into another.
• Escape Room Engineering — Interactive Design: Combine mechanical engineering, creative problem-solving, and storytelling to invent interactive puzzles and challenges. Students develop working locks, hidden mechanisms, triggers, and other puzzle elements, then combine their inventions into an escape room experience that other students can test and solve.
• Kinetic Creatures — Art Meets Engineering: Design and construct original creatures that move. Students combine artistic design with mechanical systems to create flapping wings, walking legs, moving jaws, or other animated features, experimenting with how different mechanisms produce lifelike motion.
• Mini Golf Engineering — Design, Build & Play: Apply the engineering design process to create a full-scale miniature golf hole. Students investigate slopes, angles, obstacles, momentum, and materials before planning, prototyping, constructing, and testing their designs. The challenge concludes with students playing and evaluating the finished course.

Guardians are required to complete our waiver before the first club meeting--if they haven't already done so for a different SPARKGROUNDS event. All events are led by professionally trained and insured staff who have passed a Level 2 background check. Students can withdraw from a class series at any time simply by emailing us and prorated refunds are always provided automatically.

This SPARKGROUNDS event is available for direct pay through Florida's Step Up FES-EO, UA, and PEP scholarships. Find events in the Marketplace by selecting 'find providers' and searching for 'SPARKGROUNDS.'