Hi Jenny, please tell us a little about yourself and your background.
From an early age I was exposed to the joys of building and designing things from found items. I grew up working alongside my father in his garage shop and doing projects with my mother. I went on to receive a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and have a special place in my heart for teaching girls about the coolness of math and science. I live in a tiny apartment in Manhattan with my incredible husband, daughter (6) and son (3).
My parents always told me growing up, “You can be whatever you want to be in life!” I live by this philosophy and hope to inspire it in others.
What was your biggest challenge when you opened Brooklyn Robot Foundry?
I am the sole owner of the business and have not taken any outside funding… basically, the company has been bootstrapped and grown organically through word of mouth. One of the biggest challenges as a sole owner is having enough time and money to do everything. From running four locations and a design/production facility where we create all of the robots… it’s very much a full-time job. I think the biggest challenge is making sure to put aside adequate time to think about strategy and expansion while still keeping the day to day operations running super smoothly.
What is the ideal age group for your classes? How are classes structured?
We offer classes for kids as young as 18 months and as old as 7th grade. We also offer adult classes and teacher training. So we basically cover nearly every age! We have four locations throughout NYC and can also travel to you. There are all types of class options- from single, one time classes to recurring weekly classes to full-day options. We also offer our Family Clubs where kids and parents can build together.
What skills do kids develop when they are creating and building at Brooklyn Robot Foundry?
Previous to starting the Robot Foundry, I worked in the education technology world and saw that a lot of what we are teaching our kids in schools is focused on right and wrong answers… scantron sheets and alignment with common core. There isn’t much time left in the school day to just explore, investigate and even sometimes fail. The goal of the company is to allow kids to see that building is so fun and that that process of creating and sometimes failing, and then trying again, is a blast. And so empowering.
Does Brooklyn Robot Foundry host birthday parties? If yes, what themes have you’ll covered?
We sure do! We have four party levels- Tiny (2-4 year olds), Silver (4-6 year olds), Gold (5-12 year olds) and Platinum (5-12 year olds). During the parties, the kids get to build, decorate and take home their very own robotic creation. We offer parties at all four of our locations but can also travel to you!
What advice would you give a parent whose kid is interested in engineering?
Our advice is to build things with your child and show them that it is okay not to know the answers and it is totally okay (and fun) to fail. Talk to your kids about the fun of the process and how every real-world engineering project starts with an idea and then goes through a very organic, iterative process. Usually, the first solution doesn’t work but that it is so fun to try again until you get to a solution! And that this is the best, most fun part of being an engineer.
Do you teach coding to kids?
We sure do! Starting in 3rd grade, we offer coding to our students. This is a really fun class for children because it combines hands-on building and art, with real electronics (servos, LEDs, motors, sensors) and programming. The kids work in small groups and create robots that interact with other robots and the environment. No programming experience required!
We use the fantastic Hummingbird robotics kit to teach coding. We love this platform because it is very open-ended and allows more free-form building than anything else on the market!
Can a 2-year-old really build a robot?
For sure! Our Tiny Builder classes are perfect introductions to STEM topics for toddlers. Our 45-minute classes start each week with a unique story about our robot and their engineer, DJ and Adrian. They go on adventures throughout the city and solve problems using engineering! The kids then all get to build, decorate and take home the same project that is in that week’s story (with the help of their caregiver.). It’s very engaging, very hands-on and very fun!
Are your robots kits?
No way! We have a production/design/assembly facility in Gowanus, Brooklyn. We have a team of about eight designers and three production team members who design, build, and source the parts for each and every robot. It’s so fun and rewarding and definitely my favorite part of the whole company. We have a very thorough design process that includes feedback from our teachers each and every time we build a robot. Our production team is constantly finding new and exciting parts and working with suppliers to fine-tune existing components. We really embody the idea that I mentioned above about failing and continuously improving on our designs. We are always looking for new ways to improve and adjust to make our robots better. It is so fun!!!
Where would you like to see Brooklyn Robot Foundry five years from now?
We are in the process of franchising the business. Within five years, our goal is to have multiple franchises in multiple states. We are so excited to bring hands-on learning to as many kids as possible!
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