We're Brooklyn Robot Foundry
Brooklyn Robot Foundry offers STEAM classes for children, and sometimes adults, all over the country from its base in Brooklyn, NY. The goal of the Robot Foundry is to share the fun of STEAM learning with children everywhere and inspire them to continue a life full of exploration, problem-solving, and imagination. We do this by offering fun, creative and educational classes, parties, camps and field trips to children 2-14 years old.
Our signature designs and building methods allow children to build on their own, resulting not only in a cool robot but also in increased confidence. (Children 2-5 years old are required to build with an adult, but do much of it on their own!) We encourage creativity and independent thinking from all of our builders. We provide the guidelines for each day’s robots, but the final design is up to the student. We offer a variety of programs, ranging in commitment from a single class to an entire semester.
Meet Jenny Young
Founder/CEO And totally awesome humanJenny Young spent a great deal of time building with her father in their family’s garage when she was growing up. She learned how familiar things worked by taking them apart, and how to put them back together in new combinations. It was this hands-on building experience that stayed with Jenny and ultimately sparked the idea for Brooklyn Robot Foundry.
After getting a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Jenny worked in various areas of design, manufacturing, supply chain management and software development. During this time, Jenny became proficient in process-driven systems, and unknowingly, accumulating the crucial knowledge to build a successful business.
It was when she was working in education technology that Jenny saw an overwhelming need for more open-ended, hands-on learning for elementary school students. Between reduced school budgets, overcrowding, and standardized testing, students were no longer getting an immersive engineering education.
In 2011, Jenny launched Brooklyn Robot Foundry at the New York City Maker Faire. The unique approach would combine kid-friendly projects with room for experimentation and creative design, resulting in working robots and elated, children.
For the first year, Jenny ran the company as a mobile business. In 2012, the first permanent brick-and-mortar was opened in Brooklyn, with 4 more locations opening across New York City in the following years.
Jenny saw that further expansion was limited by the financial onus of brick-and-mortar locations and decided to return to the mobile model. This mobile model would also enable Brooklyn Robot Foundry to reach a broader and more diverse group of students by pushing into schools, camps, and after-school centers around the city.
Starting in 2015, Jenny leveraged her expertise in systems and began establishing the core systems of the franchise business. The systems were tested, documents were perfected, branding was refined, a pandemic was endured, and finally, in 2022, Brooklyn Robot Foundry began offering franchise opportunities.
Today Brooklyn Robot Foundry is proud to welcome all builders to classes hosted by members of the franchise family and at the Foundry’s Brooklyn headquarters.
Experience the Fun!
We can’t wait to build with you. In the meantime, here’s quick preview…