We teach the way engineers work.
Small Machines started in 2020 in a garage with four laptops and one robot that only turned left. Today it is a bright studio on Larch Street where teenagers build real things with people who do it for a living.
Four rules
we never bend.
They shape every class, every camp and every conversation with parents.
Eight students per mentor
Small enough that every student gets help in the first ten minutes, not the last ten.
Projects over worksheets
Students build things they care about. The concepts come with the project, not before it.
Mistakes are the lesson
Broken code and wobbly robots are where the learning happens. We celebrate a good bug.
Parents see the work
A short note after every class and a demo day every term. You always know what they made.
The mentors.
Maya Okafor
Founder. Software engineer for twelve years, mostly hospital and farm systems.
Luis Ferreira
Robotics lead. Designed drones and warehouse robots before he started teaching.
Every mentor works in the field they teach, passes a background check and is CPR certified.
Spent six years making mobile games before she started teaching. Runs Game Makers and the winter game jam.
Data engineer by day at a logistics company. Teaches Python Studio on Wednesday evenings.
Electrical engineer who designs sensors for farms. Leads Inventors Lab and keeps the soldering corner safe.
Front-end developer and former student of the studio. Teaches Apps and Web and helps with camps.
A studio made for building.
Long oak tables, a robot track on the floor, a quiet corner for focus and a soldering bench with real ventilation.
- 1,800square feet, all on the ground floor
- 24laptops, so nobody needs to bring one
- 40robot kits that stay at the studio
- 2free parking spots per family at pickup