Projects for children at Maker Faire Rome 2025: 5 projects to help you rocket to the top

An even richer edition with new content and innovations in one of the most suitable locations to host an event that has made innovation its hallmark: Maker Faire Rome 2025, the event promoted and organized by the Rome Chamber of Commerce, returns from October 17 to 19, in the spaces of the Ostiense Gasometer with over 380 exhibition stands. And for kids? There will be a large educational and gaming area with many educational activities, lessons, and workshops for an even more engaging learning journey: the content is extensive, new, and ready to surprise. The secret? Learning to read the map HERE. To help you out, we’ve suggested a few projects designed for the little ones. But they’ll also thrill adults.

And or Not

Cesar Alberto Aliaga Safra, Stella Cerqua, Riccardo Cricca and Giorgia Fortuna bring And or not, an innovative board game based on Boolean logic that uses an additive and subtractive geometric process. Players must quickly assemble 3D puzzles composed of three pieces to stimulate spatial intelligence and manual dexterity.

The idea stems from an extracurricular project involving a geometric combinatorial process. Participation in the PCTO Startupper project at Lazio Innova led to the development of the idea in the form of a board game. The complete prototype was built with the support of the Fab Lab at Spazio Attivo Casilina.

You build the experiment, they fly it

In the M.10 space, the Italian Rocketry Society presents Call for payloads, a project that allows schools, universities, and enthusiasts to launch their scientific experiments aboard rockets, providing full technical support for customized payloads.

A group of rocket and hands-on learning enthusiasts had a simple yet powerful idea: to help students actually launch their scientific experiments.

«We’ve noticed that schools teach theory but forget the practical side. We’re trying to fill that gap» they explain. After 40 years of experience in electronics and aerodynamics, they now make everything available to those who dream of flying. This highly technical educational project, but above all, one with huge transformative potential, demonstrates what happens when passion meets expertise.

Recycled cardboard robots, born from a network

Officine Robotiche, in collaboration with the Fratelli Cervi Institute and the Deutsche Schule Rome, launched a school twinning project  based on the circular economy and creative robotics. Students from diverse backgrounds learned to build robots and small mobile devices using recycled cardboard, 3D modeling, and laser cutting.

Their creations come to life using boards like the Micro:bit and Calliope mini, combining manual skills, programming, and teamwork. It’s a program that teaches technical skills, but above all, the value of intercultural collaboration and sustainability.

All this can be found in Room 15 Maker Lab.

Virtual Reality School

Fifty students, a director, a visionary school. Virtual Reality School is much more than an educational project: it is an immersive experience created by the students of the “Città dei Bambini” I.C., led by Mariangela Di Giovanni and director Giuseppe Alessio Nuzzo, to tell the story and identity of Mentana.

In 4K, with VR headsets and 360° footage, the young people designed and shot a commercial that shows how school can become a cultural and creative laboratory. Writing, directing, and editing: everything was done by the students. This is a school that educates not just citizens, but authors. Where virtual reality doesn’t isolate, but connects with the local area and its memory.

You can find them in space L.13.

The secrets of the wind

Barchette in Barcolana for STEM Education is a project that uses the construction and testing of boat models to teach STEM principles through the hands-on experience of the famous Barcolana regatta, combining nautical tradition and educational innovation.

Starting from the TuBora lift and wind generator prototype presented at Maker Faire Rome in 2024, Gaia Fior, Carlo Fonda and Marco Baruzzo have developed an educational activity to teach the principles of sailboat movement in primary schools.

This activity uses small, modular, 3D-printed boats that move on wheels and allow for the installation and testing of various sailing systems (e.g., square, triangular, of various sizes, and positioned at different points on the hull), offering young experimenters extensive creative possibilities.

See the full program on the Maker Faire website