By 2026, we realized that what had begun so simply had grown into something far greater. Inside Maker was becoming established as a Living Lab—a living laboratory for social innovation that brings together children, educators, researchers, communities, and institutions to explore real-world challenges, co-create, experiment, and generate knowledge. The Children of Tomorrow Educational Center became the living heart of this journey: a place where science meets nature, creativity meets knowledge, and—most importantly—children are no longer merely invited into the future, but take an active role in creating it.

When I look back, I see that this story still carries the essence of those early days: curious children, an educator willing to experiment, and the courage to believe that learning could be different. Perhaps this is how meaningful transformations happen. They begin small, almost like play. Then one question leads to another, one idea brings people together, and suddenly, something born among a few children begins to imagine new possibilities for many more.

Every meaningful transformation begins in a simple way: with a question, a discovery, a curiosity that keeps asking, “Why?” That is how Inside Maker began in 2023, close to home—with my own children and in partnership with educator Débora Santos. We wanted to create experiences where learning also meant playing, imagining, exploring through touch, building, observing nature, and discovering the world. Without realizing it, those small adventures were planting the first seed of something that would grow far beyond us.

In 2024, we began exploring even further. Each gathering brought a new question, and each question opened up a new possibility. We designed learning journeys, tested materials, observed the children, listened to educators and researchers, and began again. Inside Maker grew as living things do: through experience, care, curiosity, and connection. That same year, the seed began to travel, reaching new learning environments, communities, and territories—where it encountered other children, other educators, and new ways of knowing and experiencing the world.

Pollyana Andrade

OUR JOURNEY

From Its Origins to the Living Lab It Is Today

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2023 — Our Beginnings

2024 — Experimentation

2025 — Expansion

2026 — Living Lab

Early development of the methodology and its first experiences with children, validating a child-centered approach to co-creation.

Ongoing refinement of learning journeys, materials, and teaching practices, shaped by insights from educators and researchers across diverse regions.

The methodology expanded into new educational and community settings, broadening its reach and embracing a greater diversity of contexts.

Building a network where children take part in inquiry, co-creation, and innovation—giving rise to the Inside Maker Living Lab ecosystem.