Hilltop hosts NJ Makers Day

Sparta — Hilltop Country Day School is proud to be a participating site for New Jersey Makers Day on March 10, 2018. Community members of all ages are invited to participate in an exciting day filled with activities focusing on maker culture.
Hilltop will be offering a variety of activities that will inspire the innovator in all children of all ages. Engineering challenges, robots, automatons and Girls Who Code will be part of the morning programs. NJ Makers Day 2018 will run from 10 a.m. to noon at Hilltop and admission is free.
“We are ecstatic to be able to bring this type of programming to the Sparta community,” said Laura McGee. “We are committed to finding ways to help people to learn new skills and to work collaboratively on exciting hands-on projects.”
Hilltop is proud to support two Makerspace design labs to support the school's S.T.E.A.M. curriculum. By definition, a “Makerspace” describes the learning environment where students can gather to create, invent, tinker, explore and discover using a variety of tools and materials. At Hilltop, these unobstructed, adaptable work areas infuse our theme of Instruct, Inspire, and Innovate. Our students can step out of the normal classroom setting and with boundless opportunity for creativity and innovation they can collaborate, create, and inspire each other. The focus might be on electronics, robotics, woodworking, sewing, programming, or some combination of these skills.
The Makerspace Design Lab is equipped with 3D printers, laptops and Makey Makey Makey kits.
The maker movement in the United States isn’t just a hobby; it’s having a significant impact on school curriculum development and growing local economies. To celebrate making and maker culture, residents throughout New Jersey will come together on Friday, March 9 and Saturday, March 10, 2018 in libraries, schools, museums, colleges, makerspaces, businesses and other community locations.
NJ Makers Day is designed to be a statewide event that celebrates, promotes, and in many cases may introduce maker culture, as well as the values associated with making, tinkering and STEM-based learning. In 2017, NJ Makers Day drew over 85,000 individual attendees to more than 300 participating sites across all 21 counties in the state. Participating locations included schools, colleges and universities, libraries, museums, and other educational organizations.
Makerspaces across the state are having a significant impact on education and job skills development by providing access to people, information, resources, and tools that facilitate making to a wide variety of skill levels. NJ Makers Day allows communities to share hands-on programming opportunities, demonstrations and displays, and the expertise of the individuals and organizations that make, create, and develop right in their own backyards.
For more information, please contact Laura McGee at 973 729-5485 or visit www.hilltopcds.org. Hilltop is located at 32 Lafayette Road in Sparta. Find out more about New Jersey Makers Day at www.njmakersday.org.