We are excited to offer this workshop series for girls and boys ages 14+ to learn about welding, 3d printing, coding and robotics! This program is called Exploring with Innovation Academy, and takes place in Alexandria, VA at Building Momentum, a problem-solving organization with expertise in training people of all ages in fabrication and building technologies. Learn more and register at: https://scoutingevent.com/082-innovation
Whom is this program for?
This is for individuals ages 14 – 21, with an interest in learning! You do not have to have experience in any of the fabrication technologies – Building Momentum’s educators are experts at teaching individuals at all skill levels. Do you like tactile activities? This is for you!
When?
- This program will run every other Monday, 5pm – 8pm, beginning 10/23
- The educational workshops are: 10/23, 11/6, 11/20, 12/4, optional 12/18
- Additonally should plan to attend any 5 community days to serve as volunteers and get the required experience with hands-on shop times. There are many weekend and no-school days to attend community days:
2023: 11/3, 11/7, 11/11, 11/22, 11/24, 12/18, 12/19, 12/20
2024: 1/15, 1/22, 2/11, 2/19, 3/18, 3/22, 3/25, 3/26, 3/27, 3/28, 3/29, 4/1, 4/2, 4/10, 5/3, 5/27, 6/7
Where?
Building Momentum | 5380 Eisenhower Ave Suite C, Alexandria, VA 22304
What will you learn?
Each of the 5 sessions will be focused on a specific area. Roughly speaking, the focus of October is welding, November is 3D printing and CAD, December is robotics/coding.
Exploring with Innovation Academy is a fun and hands-on program to learn many skills and explore future careers! This is our second semester of offering the program – please check out the experiences of our first cohort from this spring: Innovation Academy: building 3D printers in 3 hours – We Own Adventure
We hope to see you in the fall series!
Please reach out to stem@ncacbsa.org with questions or sign up for the program here.
At Building Momentum, skillsets are taught in record time. As we write this, eight scouts are half-way through an 18-hour Innovation Academy Exploring Program designed to teach youth ages 15-22 skills in fabrication. This six session program focuses on: welding, 3d printing, robotics and coding.
When I walked into session three of the program, I wasn’t sure what to expect. If you’ve 3d printed before, you know that the printing itself is the driest and can go on for hours. At Building Momentum, the youth were not twiddling their thumbs though! They got into another experience while they waited: assembling 3d printers from new-in-box conditions. This offered an excellent understanding the components and mechanics of the printer.
In the first two sessions, scouts had already welded. Some kids welded together metal frogs, some wrote their name in metal. Not just to earn a merit badge, but to really develop confidence, comfort and skills holding a welder.
Summer Camps 
Students will get the real-world experience of time management while completing several hands-on projects throughout the week. This is a fast-paced camp best for students who are eager to learn and put in the hard work.