I had the pleasure of meeting the owner/operated of Guild Hall Learning a few weeks ago. There’s one word that sums up Dave Martelli and that is “Passion.” There’s no one I’ve ever met who is as passionate about providing the hands-on tech experiences Dave and his team at Guild Hall Learning offer to kids in Cambridge, Woburn, and Natick, MA. Here’s what Dave told me about how he’s making his vision come to fruition. 

Michelle.  Hey Dave! This place is pretty awesome. Tell me what I’m looking at here in your new space in Cambridge, MA. 

Dave. Hey Michelle. Glad to – let’s take a tour of our makers’ space. Our first stop is one of my favorites here. We have a state-of-the-art music room with a professional mixing station, the highest end digital drum kit, and so many more instruments and pieces of equipment that help kids create and publish their own music. I sneak in here once in a while to pound on the drums as I work through a challenge in my head. It’s therapeutic for me and music is so great for kids to help develop their young minds. I just love seeing them put their ideas into creating something incredible in this space. 

Over here we have our woodworking room where campers can create templates, models, and finished wood-based products. Here’s a wooden sign one of our member’s is working on right now. 

Take a look at this area where kids work on electronic circuitry and connect systems to an Arduino board that enables remote controlled movements for robots. There’s a rack of components, soldering guns ready for use, and experts here to assist and teach when kids need a hand. 

All of our activities focus on STEAM and STEM projects. We don’t use kits here – and that’s because we love to feed the individual’s full creative potential. 

Our 3-D modeling area and virtual reality studio help kids envision ideas that are difficult to conceive in two dimensions. For example, we used virtual reality and some robotics principles to solve for hitting this target over here with an object of their choice. They could build anything to solve the problem. That’s what we’re all about here – creative problem solving – a skill that’s transferrable to so many aspects of life!

Michelle. Dave, this place is making me want to build something. I like sewing Halloween costumes – it looks like you have all the equipment to help someone like me achieve an award-winning costume design! This all looks really fun, but tell me why you do this every day? 

Dave. I really do love what I do. When I thought about my own childhood, I thought, what would have made it even better and the answer was immediate – a maker’s space with expert guides! I’ve always loved tinkering with tools and different media to create something new. That’s what really lit the fire under me. 

I wanted kids all over to be able to feel that sense of achievement in solving a problem in a creative way using STEM, tools, and materials they have nearly unlimited access to. For summer camps in Cambridge, we focus on a certain project, and our members can have as many as three concurrent projects going at any given time. Sometimes when they get stuck on one, they’ll move to another and finish the first later when they feel inspired by a new idea.
 
 Michelle. Tell me more about your summer camps – as a parent of two 12-year-old boys, I’d like to know what the experience will be like for them. By the way – I love your half-day camp concept where kids can come in for a half day or a full day of camp. Your programs are so flexible. And, when it’s a full day, they get to do two different camp topics like, “Combat Robot Jr” and “2D Game Developer” in one day! Mixing and matching will help parents build a camp experience that is tailored to their kids’ interests. My kids would love that! 

Dave. Thanks Michelle. That’s what we were thinking exactly – kids like to change things up. Our camps are all about the kids discovering what they like to do and we are here to support them every step of the way. 

Seeing the pride in their faces as they reveal their projects to their parents or the focused competitive game-faces they dawn when they compete with friends with their combat robots – it’s just incredibly rewarding for me and the education staff here. Kids are provided with the tools, materials, and instructions for each phase of a project. They can be as creative as they want, get help from others, and build at their own pace. It’s really all about fun, learning, and comradery among campers. Some of our campers have been coming for years and look forward to seeing their Guild Hall friends every summer!

Michelle. Where do I sign myself up? Dave – tell me something a camper has said to you over the years that has really stuck with you?

Dave. I’ll never forget when one fourth-grade girl finished her woodworking project and said, “Look what I made – I thought only boys could use those big, loud machines!” Every kid should have access to express their creativity using STEAM concepts, equipment, and materials. I just love giving access to so many different pieces of equipment and tools for so many kids to make their imagined things come to life. At Guild Hall Learning we encourage every kid to be a problem solver by failing early, failing often, and failing forward.  

Michelle. Thanks Dave. I can’t wait to see your new Cambridge, MA location filled with smiling, creative, and curious kiddos this summer!

Click the links below to explore Guild Hall STEAM Summer Camps offered in Cambridge, MA Summer 2024
 
Combat Robot Jr (for ages 8-11)
Learn how to design robots that can handle the rough world of combat robotics
July 8 – 12, 12:30PM – 3:30PM
July 15 – 19, 12:30PM – 3:30PM
July 29 – Aug 2, 9AM– 12PM
Aug 5 – 9, 12:30PM – 3:30PM
Aug 19 – 23, 12:30PM – 3:30PM

2D Game Developer (for ages 8-11)
Learn game design, history, and how developers go about creating virtual worlds
July 8 – 12, 9AM – 12PM
July 15 – 19, 9AM – 12PM
July 29 – Aug 2, 12:30 – 3:30PM
Aug 5 – 9, 9AM – 12PM
Aug 19 – 23, 9AM – 12PM

Digital Character Designer (for ages 8-11)
This class will teach you how to create a model of your character as well as all of the traits that make the character believable. You can use these characters in anything from D&D to professional animation!
July 22 – 26, 12:30PM – 3:30PM
Aug 12 – 16, 9AM – 12PM
Aug 26 – 30, 12:30PM –3:30PM

Tabletop Game Inventor (for ages 8 - 18)
Learn how to think about game design and game flow, working through idea, prototype, and finally making a full game that they made and can play with their family and friends.
July 22 – 26, 9AM – 12PM
Aug 12 – 16, 12:30PM – 3:30PM
Aug 26 – 30, 12:30PM –3:30PM

Combat Robotics (for ages 12 - 18)
Build a robot that you can put up against your friend’s robot in armored combat! In this camp students will have the opportunity to create a fully controllable robot that is designed and built for combat and then put their creations to the test against other robots.
July 8 – 12, 12:30PM – 3:30PM
July 15 – 19, 12:30PM – 3:30PM
July 29 – Aug 2, 9AM– 12PM
Aug 5 – 9, 12:30PM – 3:30PM
Aug 19 – 23, 12:30PM – 3:30PM

3D Design in Blender (for ages 12 - 18)
Create your own characters in Blender that can be used for any game you might use!
July 22 – 26, 12:30PM – 3:30PM
Aug 12 – 16, 9AM – 12PM
Aug 26 – 30, 12:30PM –3:30PM

Game Dev in Unity 3D (for ages 12 - 18)
Design your own story, game play mechanics, and immersive world where players move around and interact.
July 8 – 12, 9AM – 12PM
July 15 – 19, 9AM – 12PM
July 29 – Aug 2, 12:30PM – 3:30PM
Aug 5 – 9, 9AM – 12PM
Aug 19 – 23, 9AM – 12PM