(Editor’s note: This post on Eindhoven is part of Dispatches’ Tech Tuesday series. We cover tech across Europe because so many of our highly skilled internationals are engineers and physicists.)
Eindhoven isn’t just a city built on technology — it’s a place where innovation glows. Literally.
Eindhoven just wrapped up its 20th edition of GLOW, the city’s annual light show. GLOW transforms the buildings of Eindhoven and there’s something truly captivating about how a static building can be turned into a work of art through light projection.
And now, as a parent, it’s a perfect teaching moment: Where does the light come from? How do projections work? And maybe most importantly — what would you create if you could?
Invention has always been the name of the game in Eindhoven, from Philips’ first lightbulb to ASML’s photolithography machines, the most complex machines ever made. Now, it’s turning that legacy into opportunity — not just for engineers, but also for kids.
Here, technology isn’t hidden behind lab doors; it’s in the library, the museums, the park, the festivals. Eindhoven seems to be on a mission to make tech tangible for all the kids growing up in the area.
Some cities raise dreamers, but Eindhoven is raising makers and the next generation of innovators.
From festivals to robot battles, here’s a look at some of the most accessible ways kids can explore technology in and around Eindhoven whether through maker spaces, coding clubs or hands-on museums. In addition to GLOW, there are two other major events that highlight design and technology: Makers’ Days and Dutch Design Week.
Techie kids, techie families
• Makers Days Eindhoven (every September) is a two-day event where you will get lost in everything tech-related, geared towards kids and adults alike. From fighting robots in a large cage to football-playing robots to 3D printing, soldering, greenscreen-film-making and programming, this event has everything. You will meet so many talented makers and companies while getting to experience everything hands-on.
This past year, my family designed and colored clothing that was then projected onto animated models walking a runway on screen. We built wooden cars that raced down a track. We soldered LEDs to make little nightlights. We left feeling like we needed another day there.
• Dutch Design Week (every October) puts together recommendations called “DDW Young” to highlight the most fun and interactive projects and workshops for different age levels. They also provide specially designed lesson plans and worksheets created for Dutch Design Week to be used in classrooms. This week is definitely a bit more conceptual than Makers Days, but there’s still plenty for kids to experience.
• De Ontdekfabriek in Strijp-S translates to “Discovery Factory.” Every Wednesday, weekend and school holiday, kids can tinker to their heart’s delight. From building your own train car out of scraps of wood to making a sculpture from scrap electronics parts to building a wooden race car to seeing how a green screen works, the afternoon will fly by before you know it. There are things to occupy younger kids, but this makers’ space is especially great for kids 6 years old and up.
• MakersClub on Friday and Saturdays at the Eindhoven library allows kids of 7+ years to build, 3D print, solder and work with electronics. Kids can choose what they want to make, anything from a lamp to a robot. (The library also sometimes has Mini-MakersClub from 3 until 6 years old, but these aren’t regular sessions.)
• CoderDojo Eindhoven gives children aged 7 and older the chance to learn programming in a fun and supportive environment. Kids learn to code, create websites, apps, programs and games. This takes place every third Saturday of the month.
Libraries in the area, including Eindhoven and Helmond, also organize other activities during the school vacations. They often have workshops to play and tinker with a Lego Spike kit, where you build a creation of your choice, add motors and sensors and then program it to do what you want.
Techie museums
At the DAF Museum, kids can explore cars and trucks galore at this child-friendly museum. From modern trucks to an old fire engine and old buses, the kids can scramble on in and pretend to drive. There are also a few simulators to test out your driving skills. The only problem is, kids won’t want to leave.
The Philips Museum is not only a great place to explore Eindhoven’s technological past, but it also hosts the Museum Kids Factory during all the Dutch school vacation periods. At these crafting sessions, kids get hands-on with mechanical crafts and simple electronics. Older kids can try out soldering, sawing and drilling, while younger kids stick to the glue guns.
These museums also offer educational programs for primary school students. DAF’s is called Trucknasium and is focused on automotive technology and sustainability for older primary school students, and the Philip’s Museum offers multiple different programs. De Ontdekfabriek will bring its electric “makersbus” full of real machines and tools directly to schools and other locations for after-school programs.
ASML also sponsors a Junior Academy program to bring science programming to primary schools in the Eindhoven region. The goal is to inspire young students with technology. This is a free STEM program that was launched back in 2022 by ASML in collaboration with Mad Science.
Haven’t had enough ideas? Here are some other interesting links:
- Bricks&Robots > robotics courses and vacation camps
- Mad Science Netherlands > summer camps, after-school programs and parties full of fun experiments and science
- NEMO Science Museum > Amsterdam’s stand-out science center is a short train ride away from Eindhoven
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See more about Eindhoven here in Dispatches’ archives.
Lane Henry is an accidental long-term expat. She is an American who came to the Netherlands for two years—or so she thought. She has now lived in the Netherlands and explored Europe for over a decade.
