Three days of experiences and workshops at the Gazometro in Rome
Enthusiasm, discovery and great satisfaction in producing real objects with digital tools, learning through play: this was our Maker Faire Rome 2025. The European Edition (17–19 October, Gazometro Ostiense). Grandparents, mothers and fathers with their children queued up diligently for our workshops, and many teachers stopped to talk to us at stand F12, which hosted us [see the news item AI for inclusive teaching].
Antonio, Edoardo's father, works in IT, but he confirmed that the experiences offered by the Foundation are worth more than a thousand speeches in inspiring young people: “This is the first time I've come to Maker Faire with my son, and I chose the Solder an emoji workshop because it allowed him to get hands-on experience with principles and concepts that he will study in depth at a theoretical level in a few years” time. Today we are sowing an interest that could sprout into something more tomorrow.‘ Eleonora, mother of Alessia (fourth grade primary school) and Valerio (first year secondary school), also commented positively on the Interland Room proposal: ’I am particularly interested in the issue of safety in the use of devices. Today, Valerio had to choose a password for the classroom and showed that he did not really know what precautions to take. Children do not think about protecting their personal data. A game such as the treasure tower (one of the four kingdoms of the Interland Room) motivates players to answer questions about secure passwords correctly in order to earn bricks, which are useful for winning the competition. This makes it easier to raise their awareness."
In addition to these two experiences, we brought Protobot, Microbots' pocket-sized rover, which can be controlled remotely via an app. At the stand, visitors were also able to learn about and try out the main activities aimed at teachers, young people and families. In particular, it was possible to test the Pathway Companion platform with sessions dedicated to teachers and parents on the intelligent tutoring system to support caregivers (teachers, support teachers, healthcare professionals and parents) and children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) in their educational journey and for their safe online life.
There was great interest and success in the virtual Taekwondo sessions, an immersive and digital version of the combat sport, brought by the Italian Taekwondo Federation with exceptional athletes and testimonials. Through sensors and visors, visitors challenged each other remotely, without physical contact, but with the same intensity and competitiveness as “real” competitions.
Vicenzo Sivero, project manager, was the protagonist of the podcast of the Rome Capital Commission, Statute and Technological Innovation (E1) to talk about the Digital Facilitation Centres project, on Friday at 5.15 p.m. [see the news item Rome Capital at Maker Faire 2025].
