Each year, more than 80,000 residents come together at hundreds of public, school, and academic libraries throughout the state for New Jersey Makers Day, an annual celebration of STEM and maker culture.
While the event will look different this year given public health restrictions in the wake of the Covid pandemic, the event’s organizers are planning a variety of engaging, family-friendly virtual activities for makers of all ages.
The 7th Annual New Jersey Makers Day virtual offering NJMD Live! will be March 19-20 and feature a variety of inspiring, family-friendly events including Joylette Hylick, mathematician, author, and daughter of Katherine Johnson, profiled in “Hidden Figures”; Kathy Ceceri, award-winning writer and instructional designer; Dr. Madiha Jafri, Systems Engineer and STEM advocate; and Mike Carroll, elementary school teacher, entrepreneur, and children’s author.
Events will also feature hands-on workshops on a variety of topics like hacking origami, building bee abodes to conserve native pollinators, engineering with paper to make your own arcade style game, and learning game design.
All of these activities are free, and open to all New Jersey residents statewide. The events will be live-streamed on njmakersday.org, YouTube, and Facebook Live. Visit njmakersday.org/njmd-live for a compete listing of dates, times, and program descriptions. RSVP to receive event updates.
“When we are able to participate in hands-on creation and hear from real people about their experiences as innovators in business and education, it inspires us to learn and grow our own skills,” shares Kate Jaggers, President of the New Jersey Makers Day nonprofit organization and Director of Highland Park Public Library.
“We’re so proud that New Jersey Makers Day events reach so many people statewide, and that more families and young people are able to explore new ways to engage with science, technology, engineering, math and the arts.”