Walk into any robotics camp and you'll see the same thing: kids snapping together plastic bricks, dragging blocks on a screen, building projects designed to be disposable.
LEGO, VEX, mBot — colorful plastic that teaches kids engineering is playing with expensive blocks. It's not.
Online courses teach concepts. They don't teach how to solder a circuit board, debug a sensor, or hold something you designed in your hands.
3D printing over here. Coding over there. Electronics somewhere else. Three classes, three kits, zero connection. Real engineering doesn't work that way.
Build it, show mom, put it on a shelf. Nothing connects to anything else. Nothing has value beyond the classroom.
Every other program teaches 3D printing or electronics or coding — separate classes, separate hardware, no connection. At TBL, one $80 ProtoBot robot is the shared platform across three integrated tracks.
Design custom shells, wheel variants, sensor mounts, and functional attachments. CAD → print → test → redesign. Real engineering iteration.
Solder the flex PCB, wire I²C sensors, read schematics, debug with a multimeter. Build the robot and understand every component.
Block coding → Arduino C++ → autonomous navigation → on-device machine learning. Program a robot that thinks for itself.
ProtoBot runs on an ESP32-C6 RISC-V microcontroller — the same architecture used in next-gen IoT devices. Its BNO085 9-axis IMU is the same class of sensor found in high-end drones. Open-source everything. No black boxes.
A path that grows with your kid — from zero experience to professional-grade skills.
Your kid becomes part of a Mars mission team. Assemble a ProtoBot rover, program it to navigate Martian terrain, collect sensor samples, and transmit data back to Earth. Every session opens with a mission briefing. They keep the robot.
CAD modeling, custom shells, wheel variants, functional attachments. Design → print → test → redesign.
Soldering, schematics, sensor wiring, debugging with a multimeter. Build the robot from a kit and understand every component.
Block coding → Arduino C++ → autonomous navigation → on-device machine learning. Program a robot that thinks for itself.
The complete journey. Your kid walks out with a custom robot they designed, built, and programmed — plus a portfolio of CAD files, code, and documentation.
Satellite Assembly, Integration & Test — taught by a practicing satellite engineer in our ISO 7 cleanroom. Build and test a FlatSat platform, write professional test procedures, produce an industry-standard test report.
At $749 for 48 hours of instruction with a real $80 robot included, TBL costs $15.60/hour — cheaper than most makerspace workshops. But here's what makes it different.
2007 W. Hedding St, Suite 210, San Jose, CA — minutes from the companies building the future.
Multiple FDM printers running continuously. Design a part in CAD, hold it in your hands 45 minutes later.
Temperature-controlled Hakko irons, magnifying lamps, multimeters, oscilloscopes. Professional tools.
Dedicated space with obstacles, terrain mats, and light sources. Test, crash, debug, improve.
Same classification NASA's JPL uses to assemble Mars rovers. Your kid suits up in a bunny suit and learns to work in a professional electronics environment.
Jordan is a practicing satellite Assembly, Integration & Test engineer. When your kid asks "why does this matter?", the answer comes from someone who has integrated flight hardware — not a camp counselor, not a textbook. A practitioner.
They need a place where someone takes them seriously. Cohorts capped at 12 students. First cohorts launch Fall 2026.