Themakerdepot.com Reviews

The Maker Depot in Totowa Offers Kids a Place to Work With Their Hands

For those looking to learn woodworking, this is the place to go. They have classes for kids and adults and they also host events and parties. You can sign up for their membership programs which include classes and unlimited access to the tools they have. You can even attend their workshops on various topics like 3D printing and FabLab.

Memberships

Whether it’s a wood shop, metal working station or a Little Bits electronics kits bar, more and more schools and community centers in New Jersey are offering kids a way to work with their hands. These spaces, often called “makerspaces,” are a return to the days of craft and technology and provide an outlet for children who might not excel in a traditional academic setting.

Maker Depot owners Michael Franchino and Frank Cornacchiulo opened their facility in Totowa last year, offering memberships that let members use the facility’s wood-working shops, computers for 3-D printing and fabrication and computer numerical control machines. They also run Maker Depot Academy, a 501c3 nonprofit that promotes STEAM education and teaching.

Stanley Szczepanski, a member of MakerSpace who works as a glazier, comes to the space to make tools for his job and to teach others how to do it. Urbano Maher, another member, makes things on a contract basis for people who don’t know how to make them themselves.

Classes

For some, a makerspace represents a return to the days when people used their hands and crafted a solution to a problem. For others, it’s a technology-driven revolution. At New Milford High Stations, for instance, students can use Legos, a 3-D printer, a Little Bits electronics kit bar and computer programming equipment.

At the Maker Depot Academy in Rahway, founders Michael Franchino and Frank Cornacchiulo run a not-for-profit company that promotes STEM education called “Maker Depot Academy.” It helps train teachers on the equipment they can bring to their classrooms.

The Academy also offers classes for kids and adults, including 3D printing, Fabrication, and Electronics. In addition to its public courses, it also hosts birthday parties and Scout programs for badges. It is starting to run educational programs for educators, too. And it is running its own version of cognitive creations, using 40 Merge Cube units, thanks to a 2022 HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) grant from the Union County Board of Commissioners.

Events

One layer at a time, one mask at a time, Shweta Thapa is trying to do her part to help stop the COVID-19 pandemic. The 29-year-old mechanical engineer and lab manager is working at a fabricating co-op in Totowa called the Maker Depot.

Founded by college friends Michael Franchino and Frank Cornacchiulo about 30 years ago, the Maker Depot has since expanded to include a metal shop, woodworking tools, 3-D printers and laser cutters. They run kids classes, adult classes and birthday parties as well as educational programs for educators and scout groups.

It's part of a growing movement called the maker space. These places are popping up in schools, libraries and offices all over North Jersey and across the country. Some call it a return to craftsmanship, others see it as an evolution of education, a way for kids who don't excel in traditional academic settings to find their passions. Others like New Milford High School's six makerspace stations, which feature Legos, 3-D printers and Little Bits electronics kits bar, are focused on STEAM -- science, technology, engineering, art and math.