Make Stuff with Kathy Ceceri!
Online STEAM Workshops for Kids, Teens, and Families
Hands-on Activities for Home or Classroom!
Join me for online STEAM workshops featuring make-along projects to try at home!
All you need for most workshops is everyday household stuff like scrap paper and old t-shirts or simple, low-cost electronics (shopping lists and/or kits available).
Workshops include printable instructions and links to additional resources to explore afterwards.
Projects are adapted from my books — make sure to have them in your collection!
BOTS! Robotics Paper Prototypes
Discover how robots work, from soft stretchy crawlers to mechanical walkers to programmable robots! In this workshop, you’ll get a look at some simple prototypes you can make from everyday stuff like old electronics and recycled materials. Then try a real working project using just paper, scissors, and tape. Kids will make a Walking Robot Dog, and teens can design their own Robot Fin Gripper that curves around objects. Step-by-step video and written instructions help you follow along. It’s never been easier to get started with robotics, right in your own home!
Paper Inventions: Amazing Math Models!
Create paper designs that make math fun! Explore the mysterious behavior of math models like the Mobius strip, the hexaflexagon, and the dragon curve fractal using just paper, scissors, tape, and markers.
Musical Inventions
Kids will learn the science behind sound and music by making their own! Find out how musical instruments work, and see how to make instruments out of drinking straws (or rolled up paper), string and paper cups, and other common materials.
Click here or on the image of the straw oboe girl above to watch quick videos demonstrating more than a dozen projects, along with some of the real-life musician/inventors who inspired them!
Fabric and Fiber Inventions: Make a T-Shirt Tote!
Learn how fabrics are made, and what makes t-shirt fabric a great material to work with! Then follow along as I show you how to upcycle an old t-shirt into a handy carry-all — no sewing needed! Kids will make a tote bag, and teens will make a drawstring backpack.
Multi-Week Tech Programs
All you need are low-cost electronics (shopping list and/or kits available — or salvage components from dollar store devices)
Tails and Tales for Kids and Teens!
Animal-Themed Projects for 2021 Summer Library Programs
Kids 8 and up:
Walking Robot Dog — Learn how biomimetic robots are designed to move like real animals with a project based on my book BOTS!
Light-Up Jumping Frog Origami — Make a light-up paper model adapted from my book Paper Inventions
Teens 12 and up:
Light-Up Kitty or Bunny Switch — Make a simple circuit critter from paper or fabric
Cat-Tail Tilt Sensor (2 hours) — Take your circuit one step further by making your critter into a tilt sensor, based on my book Fabric and Fiber Inventions
Programmable Pal (3 sessions) — Create a ticklish, tail-wagging companion bot with a sewable microcontroller and easy coding
