All photos by Philip Laubner
In what used to be a South West Baltimore rec center now resides Digital Harbor Foundation. The foundation, among plenty of other endeavors, is an after school haven for school aged kids who are inspired by technology and their passion to create. It wasn’t until our trip down to Federal Hill that we realized how incredible this place is, and how jealous we are that we didn’t grow up attending something this awesome. From building circuits to 3D printing chocolate molds of Stephen Colbert’s head, Digital Harbor Foundation gives these children the chance to explore some incredible technology while testing the limits of their own brains. Students are encouraged to experiment, while the teachers exist as guides to aid in projects, rarely directing but always nurturing. These students all strive to break boundaries and push their intelligence to places most classrooms don’t reach—and the results are pretty cool.
Mackenzie, 11-year old TEDxYouth engineer working on her touch responsive circuit using a Makey Makey kit and Play-Doh.
Markia, the 13-year old soldering and motor expert, showing off her drone project. Aside from giving a talk of her own at the TEDxYouth conference many DHF kids attended, Markia and fellow student Sierra formed an all-girls tech group known as the Makerettes. Inspired by the lack of representation women have in Tech (even at Digital Harbor Foundation), Markia, Sierra and the rest of the group aim to provide support for the girls currently in the program, and hopefully inspire others to join.
8 year old Ryan explains axes, which the younger children are introduced to through an arcade program called Scratch. Using Scratch the kids create their own games using the basics of programming and simultaneously learn about quadrants and axes.
Josh, age 11, using the Makey Makey program to create a circuit that responds to his hand controls which then directs a Tetris game he created. Josh was also one of the TEDxYouth engineers at a conference earlier this year.
Abidemi, 18, creating a drawing device using 3D printed pieces. Upon its completion the device will be able to draw whatever Abidemi tells it to. His first drawing, he tells me, will be “myself.”
Abidemi explaining his project to Digital Harbor Foundation’s Executive Director, Andrew Coy.
Testing the limits of the circuit created by Mackenzie, we used our bodies as conductors to complete the circuit without a hiccup.
Viola, 11, also a TEDxYouth engineer is also creating a circuit.
Here Sierra, age 15, holds a 3D printed photo that she both took and printed. Inspired by her love for photography and tech, she combined the two and taught herself how to prepare a photo to accurately 3D print it. Among Sierra’s other projects is the Jukebox Piano, that she built and decorates on her own—down to the selection of the playlist. Sierra, among the rest of the students at DHF is so eager to inspire others about what she loves about tech and being a maker. One of the founders of the Makerettes, Sierra has seen first hand the lack of respect women get in tech (via Xbox and her peers), and is striving to change how girls are judged in this sphere. She wants other women to feel comfortable the way she does in the safe space Digital Harbor has created, and to increase girls participation. She hopes that other girls find the confidence she did to start at DHF, to not care about how others perceive her, and, like her mentors, “do what I want to do.”
