Make
Hands on parts in the first ten minutes. Short demo, long build sprint, real tools.
ADMIT ALL Free for students & families
Every kid gets top billing.
createMPLS brings hands-on robotics, coding, engineering, sound, and flight programs right into Minneapolis schools and community sites. Students build it, test it, and take a bow. Families pay nothing.
A Minneapolis nonprofit · making things with kids since 2015
Now making: robots, beats, drones, games, circuits, 3D prints, machines and shadow theaters.
A floor-sized chain reactionA beat made from a stairwellA robot that solves a maze aloneA boss-level arcade gameA tiny drone you built and flewA paper circuit that lights upA drawing you can hearA claw that has to hit a numberAn invention for your blockA pixel self-portrait
How it works · it comes to you
The show comes to you.
We bring the instructors, the kits, and a ready-to-run program into your building, during the school day or after it. For a few weeks your room becomes the studio.
Students make something real in the first session, test it, change one thing, explain it, and close with a show. Students and families pay nothing.
It comes to us!A createMPLS parent
Test
Run it, watch it fail, change one thing, run it again. That loop is the lesson.
Show
Every program ends with a share: a show night, a listening party, a tournament, a gallery walk.
On site, in your space
$0 for students & families
School day, after school & summer
Coming attractions
What kids walk out having made.
Every program ends with something you can hold, play, fly, or hear, and a kid who can tell you exactly how it works.
Now making
A machine that moves on its own gears
Grades 3–5
Now making
A tiny drone you built and flew
Grades 6–12
Now making
A wiggly 3D-printed critter
Grades 3–5
Now making
A beat made from a stairwell
Grades 9–12The lineup · programs we bring to you
Pick a grade. Pick a stage. Book the show.
Each ticket is a real program from our catalog, headlined by the thing students make. Add the ones you like and send us your lineup.
“In previews” means a new program getting its first runs with partner sites. Ask us about hosting one.
The house count
5,657 students served since 2019
Combined yearly counts, 2019–2023.
Get in the show
Three ways to get involved.
Most of what we do starts with a school or community site saying “yes, here.” Volunteers and donors keep it running.
For schools & community sites
Host a show
We bring instructors, kits, and a ready-to-run program to your building, in the school day, after school, or in summer. You bring the room and the students.
- No cost to students & families
- Pre-K through Grade 12
- Screen-free options
Volunteers
Join the crew
Mentors and build-day helpers keep every session running. Bring patience and curiosity; we’ll bring the plan.
Volunteer with us
Donors
Keep the lights on
Gifts keep kits stocked, printers fed, and every program free for students and families.
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