Meet Some of Our Team

With a passion for child development and the magic of summer, Kaylie founded Neuron Garage in 2014. The program is enhanced with practices she gleaned from studying neuroscience and education at Dartmouth, as well as over a decade of experience in the classroom. 

Ben Seidman is a theater, music, and language arts teacher at the Austin School for the Performing and Visual Arts. He joined Neuron Garage in 2019 and is excited to apply his experience with online education to this new online Neuron Garage experience.

Copyright © 2020

About Neuron Garage

At Neuron Garage we are confident that people who are able to think creatively, work collaboratively, and respond resiliently will thrive in any situation. We have found real magic in simple materials and tangible challenges — when they are combined in our intentional, supportive “garage” environment.

For the past six summers, we have seen children with a vast range of interests get deeply engaged and energized by our building challenges, so we know that we have developed something that really works for children with all different backgrounds, learning styles and preferences. 

Privacy Policy & COPPA Notice

CAMP DATES

Afternoon Camp
1 Week Sessions
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM CST

Kits include everything campers need to build & participate. Just add recycling.

Includes: low-temp hot glue gun & glue sticks, scissors, tape, basic building supplies & craft materials, games and more!

Great for Children. Great for Parents.

Our goal is for your child to have a blast and for you to get some much needed relief.

Campers dive into their main Building Challenge for the week designing, building, and testing their ideas.

Campers learn and practice "Secret Skills" such as magic tricks, sign language, and tying balloon animals.

Fun with a Purpose.

Welcome to Neuron Garage, the summer camp where kids discover their potential through open-ended, hands-on building challenges. Our campers take recycled materials and are empowered to find solutions in a fun, collaborative atmosphere.

When your child can think creatively, work collaboratively, and respond resiliently, they can do anything.

The problems your children tackle at Neuron Garage are open-ended, with no set solutions. And the materials they use are simple and multi-purpose. This combination unlocks a level of engagement and resourcefulness that is both joyful and transformational.

Our thoughtfully trained team guides your children to tap into their own genius and to collaborate with their peers for inspiration and support. Campers learn how to give and receive feedback from other campers, how to push themselves to create their best work, and how to recover from frustration and setbacks in order to continue forward. As they build with their hands, these experiences build confidence and resilience, propelling them onto their next challenge — whether at camp or beyond.

The building is FUN. But, it takes energy and focus, so we make sure your child’s day has plenty of time to re-energize with reflection and play.

FAQS

Start Your Registration Today!

The Summer Online Building Camp for Kids!

Online Safety

We leverage a premium Zoom account to keep your children safe. Sessions are password protected and private chat is disabled.

Technical Requirements

All you need is a Zoom enabled device and a stable internet connection.

Typical Day

In addition to hands-on building in the morning and afternoon, campers will play interactive games led by our instructors and on-line boardgames to develop individual friendships, engage in group discussions, and participate in plenty of movement activities and games.

Our goal is for parents not to be involved with their children's camp day. However, depending on a child's level of independence and fluency with technology, they may need additional guidance or redirection that we are not able to provide virtually.

Parental Involvement

Live Instruction

Campers will be with a live instructor throughout their day. Instruction and activities will be adapted to each camper and each group, just as they would be at our in-person camps.

How We Hire Staff

We hire college students and graduates with a passion for education and child development, and a love of learning and summertime. Every team member is background checked and trained to deliver the Neuron Garage curriculum in a supportive environment, whether that be in-person or online.

You'll receive an email from Neuron Garage to complete your registration!

Try 2 days at no risk*

CREATIVE THINKING, COLLABORATION, & RESILIENCE

Ages 7-12 years old. Campers join our virtual community, led by a LIVE, trained Guide, and get hands-ons, repurposing their recycling to solve fun, weekly engineering challenges. Through the process, they have fun, make new friends, and build the foundation for a vibrant future.

We know that some school Zoom experiences have been less than ideal, and we aim to make this experience much more “campy”.

Enroll your child and let them come try out the program. If it is not a good fit, cancel by the end of the camp day on Tuesday for a full refund of your registration fees.

The day will be a balance between guided discussions, games, movement, fun lessons, small group collaboration and hands-on building.

The program is designed to maximize child independence and allow parents the ability to focus on their many other priorities.

We will be shipping everything your child will need to build and participate, including a guide to help them collect and organize recycling in the weeks leading up to camp. All you will need to provide is a Zoom enabled device.

Balanced & Engaging Days

Each day is filled with movement, hands-on building, discussions with peers and a lesson in a "secret skill".

We want to make this easy on you.

We will ship you a Build Box which includes everything your child will need (minus a little recycling).

*Cancel by the end of camp on Tuesday for a 100% refund of registration fees.

Have a Quick Question? Kaylie is available to help! 

Direct Line: (512) 593-5393 | Email: 
Kaylie.Reed@NeuronGarage.com

Days are filled with movement and interactive games with other campers. 

$90 inc. shipping

TYPICAL DAILY SCHEDULE

Online Camp takes place during Central Standard Time (CST)

Siblings Join for FREE on One Device

Use Code: TOGETHER

+Optional Pre/Post Activities

Annie Hamilton is a 3rd grade teacher in Cedar Park with a passion for facilitating out-of-the-box thinking and creativity amongst children. She started with Neuron Garage in 2019, and is very much looking forward to being a part of this wonderful and enriching program again this summer.. 

Preslie Booth is a lifelong camper with experience as a summer camp counselor and swim instructor. She is working towards an education degree and loves building community, watching the kids grow and learn, and making camp FUN! This is her second summer at Neuron Garage and she is looking forward to having lots of virtual dance parties!

Grace is a recent psychology graduate with a passion for childhood social and emotional development. She worked with Neuron Garage in 2018, and loved watching the kids harnessing his or her natural abilities and energy to build. She is looking forward to facilitating and witnessing the great connections and achievements that will be built online at Neuron Garage this summer!

Emily Bergo is a middle school English teacher with a passion for trying new things, both in the classroom and out! She’s back for her second year with Neuron Garage after joining the team in 2019. She is looking forward to providing kids a fun and engaging place to go during these uncertain times!

Skyler Bossen was the director of an after school enrichment program and summer camp for 4 years before joining the Neuron Garage team in 2020. She studied Communication at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is planning on getting her teaching credential this coming year. She is passionate about teaching kids through recreation and values genuine connections with her students and their families.

Margaret Farrar is back at Neuron Garage for her third summer! After taking a few years to teach in a Montessori classroom, she knew her heart would lead her back to her favorite place: camp. She has a fierce love for building children's problem solving skills and emotional intelligence, as well as her own in the process.

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Sam is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for great operations and building amazing teams.  Sam is deep believer in the enrichment goals of Neuron Garage and is focused on scaling  its positive impact  to Austin and beyond!

Ally Edwards is a behavior intervention specialist working in an elementary school in Austin, Texas and has a passion for being a lifelong learner. She joined Neuron Garage in 2020 and hopes to have a rocking first summer full of joy and growth. She studied education and fine arts at UT, and her plans for the future are to be in the service of helping children become who they were always meant to be.

"I just wanted to take a moment to say that Alex is SO enjoying his week at Neuron Garage. This experience has really exceeded our expectations including Alex's. Our basement has been wonderfully and magically transformed into a workshop of materials EVERYWHERE (and that's a good thing). We come together for dinner every night and talk about each other's days. Alex always has the greatest things to say. He feels empowered, challenged and motivated to solve the problems he faces."

"Maya is absolutely loving this camp- she says she’s “never bored” during it and she is spending a lot of time outside of camp working on her projects and showing us her work.  Thanks for all of the work to get this camp virtual- it allowed us to join all the way from California."

Parent Reviews

Want to hear from more parents?  Click here to read reviews about our in-person camps in Austin, TX. While a different experience than our online camps, the reviews offer parent feedback on the core enrichment and fun of our building challenges.

"Honestly, I have been really impressed with how well you have adapted the program for virtual camp. The build kit was a huge hit and the daily interactions offer the perfect blend of hang time, instruction, small groups and independent work. The guides are awesome as well.  "

"We really love the program! I just could not be happier with the way you engage the kids and teach them these valuable lessons about resiliency and creativity and continual learning!  Wow!"

"They are engaged the whole time, they LOVE popsicle time, they enjoy the games and they're excited about their projects. I am really impressed. The other online stuff we've tried has been much more of a flop."

Building Challenges

Kids love our building challenges that keep them learning all summer long!

If your kingdom was under attack, could you defend it? Can you build a castle with a working drawbridge? Can you design a catapult the fires accurately enough to ward off intruders? Using two simple machines — pulleys and levers — along with lots of cardboard and imagination, campers build castles with defense systems.

MARBLE ROLLERCOASTERS

Can you create a rollercoaster with toilet paper tubes and tape – and loads of other recycled goods?  How long can you make it? Will it have a loop? Two? What else will you add to your adventure park?

If you could build anything out of cardboard, what would it be? This week, campers tap into their inner designer, following our Think-Build-Learn process to create something they are proud of out of the contents of their recycling bins.

CARDBOARD CREATIONS

STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY

If a storm knocked out the bridge between the island you live on and the mainland it was connected to, would be able to rebuild it? If you could use only two materials to build, what would they be? How much weight could it hold? This week campers will take on a series of building challenges using limited resources and unlimited creativity.

ROAD RACERS

Welcome to the Pit Crew! This week campers will design, build, and test cars made entirely out of recycled materials -- and then race on their homemade tracks! Using two simple machines -- wheel + axle and inclined plane -- along with plenty of imagination and bottle caps, campers won't be able to stop building and racing their cars!

TRASHY TREASURES

Using a variety of recycled and simple materials, campers will turn trash into treasure this week. Starting by creating a prototype, each camper will design, build, and refine upon their vision, working towards a machine or masterpiece they can be proud of.

SPACE SURVIVAL

If you crash-landed on an unknown planet, what would you do? Would you stay and build a shelter, or would you fix your engine and design a new spaceship to return home? This week, campers will race against the clock to create self-propelled spaceships and shelters for outer space survival.

MEDIEVAL CONSTRUCTION

If you could wake up tomorrow in the home of your dreams, where would you be? In a little cabin nestled in the mountains far away from city noise, in an apartment building surrounded by skyscrapers, in a houseboat floating on a lake, in a giant yurt surrounded by other yurts with all your friends? This week, campers get to think about how spaces impact how they feel and what matters to them most as they design and build their environment.

CARDBOARD UTOPIA