What FutureMakers does

FutureMakers is a Baltimore-based, privately-held company founded in 2011 that designs and sells Sparks, a portfolio of 17+ screen-free, hands-on engineering kits for Pre-K through Grade 8 learners. Each Sparks kit is a 1:1 take-home product containing die-cut modular components, fasteners, printed visual learner guides, and accompanying educator playbooks, classroom slides, and coaching videos. The kits cover engineering and STEAM concepts including simple machines, mechanical linkages, electrical circuits, automata, kinetic art, and optics. The company has explicitly built its platform around physical, screen-free learning, positioning against the digital-learning trend in K-8 education.

FutureMakers operates a sales-led go-to-market targeting three primary institutional verticals: PK-8 public and private schools and districts, public library systems, and municipal recreation departments. Revenue comes predominantly from one-time kit sales, with Small Group Packs of 10 kits priced at $105-$122 (approximately $10.50-$12.20 per kit) and Class Packs of 25 kits for larger institutional orders. The company also runs in-person Labs & Studios workshops in Baltimore and a Coach-with-Sparks educator facilitation program as adjacent service revenue. Distribution is entirely direct: institutional orders are handled through an instant-quote request system on the company's website, while individual educators and parents can purchase via the shop.futuremakers.fun e-commerce storefront. No third-party resellers or distributors are documented.

The company's named institutional customer base is concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic, with deployments across Baltimore County Public Schools, Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Prince George's County Public Schools, the Center for Educational Outreach at Johns Hopkins University's Whiting School of Engineering, DC Public Library, Baltimore County Public Library, Anne Arundel County Public Library, and the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks. Sparks kits are standards-aligned to Common Core ELA, Common Core Math, and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and are differentiated by a 1:1 learner-to-kit ratio and educator support materials designed to enable non-specialist adults to lead engineering instruction. No funding rounds, revenue figures, or headcount data have been publicly disclosed; the company appears to operate as a bootstrapped private business serving a regional institutional market.

Name

FutureMakers

Legal name

FutureMakers

Website

https://kidsmakethingsbetter.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FutureMakers is a Baltimore-based company that designs and sells Sparks, a portfolio of 17+ screen-free, hands-on engineering kits for PK-8 classrooms, public libraries, and youth programs. The company sells directly to institutions and operates in-person Labs & Studios workshops in Baltimore.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational STEM Kits

NAICS

Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (339930)

SIC

Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

Robotics Kits, Parts & Lab Equipment Providers (Education-Focused) (EDAMADAN)

Keywords

• Hands-on STEM kits
• Engineering education products
• PK-8 STEAM curriculum
• Screen-free learning kits
• Classroom maker supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Sparks Kit Sales: One-time purchase of physical hands-on STEM kit products sold directly to schools, libraries, and youth programs. Kits are sold in Small Group Packs (10 units) and Class Packs (25 units). No recurring subscription component is described. Additional revenue may come from in-person labs, workshops, and coach-with-Sparks facilitation programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

FutureMakers designs, manufactures, and sells "Sparks" — screen-free, hands-on engineering kits for PK-8 learners. Each kit is a 1:1 modular pack with die-cut components, fasteners, visual learner guides, educator slides, and playbooks that enable non-specialist adults to lead standards-aligned engineering activities. Kits are sold as Small Group Packs of 10 and Class Packs of 25 to schools, libraries, and youth programs, complemented by in-person Labs & Studios workshops in Baltimore.

Product overview

FutureMakers is a single unified product company offering Sparks — a comprehensive suite of screen-free, hands-on STEM kits for PK-8 learners. The core product is Sparks, which includes 17 distinct engineering kit modules (Art Machines, Blendies, Crankie Contraptions, Drawbots, Electric Vehicles, Flying Machines, Hypnotizers, Linkages, Mazes, Monster Claws, Monster Mouths, Scene Machines, Screen Machines, Strawbots, Straw Structures, Wind-Up Vehicles, and Eyelusions). Each Spark kit is a 1:1 take-home product that comes with educator guides, classroom slides, and program playbooks. The portfolio is complemented by in-person Labs & Studios workshops in Baltimore and a Coach with Sparks educator support program. The Sparks kits range from Pre-K to Grade 8 and cover engineering concepts including simple machines, circuits, linkages, motion, and optical phenomena.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sparks: Playful engineering kits for PK-8 classroom, special education, community and family engagement programs. Each Spark includes educator guides, classroom slides, and program playbooks.

Products and services

• Art Machines

Quantifiable outcome

• Every Spark has been classroom-tested by thousands of educators and learners

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Baltimore County Public SchoolscoreOthersBaltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) is a primary customer and key partner. Educators across BCPS use Sparks in K-8 classrooms. The partnership includes the BCPS Teacher of the Year (Brendan Penn) publicly endorsing the program, and ongoing collaboration including the company's most decorated teacher testimonial. BCPS is FutureMakers' most prominently featured institutional customer.
• DC Public LibrarycoreOthersDC Public Library uses FutureMakers Sparks kits for summer reading and year-round youth STEM programming. The library distributed kits citywide and ran programs with virtual coaching, reaching children across Washington D.C.
• Center for Educational Outreach, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins UniversitycoreOthersThe Center for Educational Outreach at Johns Hopkins University's Whiting School of Engineering has chosen FutureMakers to support its K-12 STEM education mission. Sparks are used in K-2 classrooms to ignite critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills in students.
• Anne Arundel County Public SchoolscoreOthersAACPS uses FutureMakers Sparks in virtual co-curricular clubs, with staff reporting high student engagement. The partnership includes both school programming and connections to Anne Arundel County Public Library for coordinated STEM outreach.
• Prince George's County Public SchoolscoreOthersPGCPS uses FutureMakers Sparks across Chinese Immersion, French Immersion, and Spanish Immersion programs, demonstrating the kits' adaptability for multilingual STEM education.
• Baltimore County Public LibrarycoreOthersLongstanding partnership where FutureMakers has 'empowered our staff to reach broader audiences with STEM programming.' BCPL uses FutureMakers kits to train teens as STEM mentors for younger youth, combining workforce development with programming.
• Anne Arundel County Public LibraryminorOthersAACPL uses FutureMakers Sparks for STEM programming and outreach, with staff describing the kits as 'uncomplicated' tools for equitable hands-on exploration.
• Department of Recreation and Parks, City of BaltimorecoreOthersBaltimore Recreation and Parks uses FutureMakers Sparks for summer camp programs and city-wide virtual Spring Break programs, combining home kit delivery with live virtual coaching sessions led by FutureMakers coaches.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• LEGO Education: The K-12 STEM/Education arm of LEGO, offering robotics (SPIKE, WeDo, MINDSTORMS), engineering manipulatives, and complete curriculum packages for PK-12. Sets the purchasing baseline in school STEM kit procurement and competes in nearly every FutureMakers kit category.
• Crayola Education: Education arm of Crayola offering STEAM/creativity kits and curriculum integrated with standard classroom materials. Competes for the same arts-and-engineering classroom budget slot, especially for elementary-grade kits with art/STEAM positioning.
• Pitsco Education: Long-standing K-12 STEM solutions provider offering STEM kits, robotics, and equipment to schools and districts nationwide. Competes for the same institutional budget pool with much broader catalogs and longer-tenured district relationships.

Direct peers

• Steve Spangler Science: Hands-on science/STEM kit company producing classroom kits and big-bang science experiences for K-8 educators with full lesson plans. Comparable in classroom-ready, screen-free, educator-enabled kit positioning but skews more toward chemistry/physics phenomena than engineering design.
• Tinkering Labs: Maker of hands-on engineering kits such as the Tinkering Labs 'Electric Motors Catalyst' and 'Hydraulics' kits, designed for classroom STEAM. A closer peer in terms of product form factor (physical construction kits with educator support) and target buyer (PK-8 teachers), but smaller and with narrower catalog than FutureMakers.
• Modular Robotics (Cubelets): Producer of Cubelets and MOSS magnetic modular robotics kits for K-12 education. Most analogous in product philosophy (modular, hands-on, screen-free building kits), serving the same grade bands and school procurement channels.
• KiwiCo: Subscription-based monthly STEM, art, and maker crates for kids ages 0–14 with educator-supports and a school/classroom channel. Most comparable competitor — also delivers hands-on, screen-free engineering kits, but at much larger scale via subscription DTC and education partnerships.
• Sphero Education: Educational division of Sphero (which absorbed littleBits), selling programmable robots, STEAM kits, and computer-science curriculum to schools. Competes for the same PK-8 STEM kit budgets as FutureMakers, particularly in robotics and electronics-themed kits.
• PCS Edventures: Provider of hands-on STEM labs and kits for K-12 schools and after-school programs, including STEM labs, robotics, and maker materials. Comparable in mission, product form factor, and target buyer (school districts and enrichment providers).

Others

• STEMfinity: Online distributor/reseller of K-12 STEM kits, robots, and maker education supplies (carrying products from LEGO Education, Sphero, etc.). Functions as a channel FutureMakers could partner with (or be eclipsed by) for national school-district procurement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/futuremakerkids
• YouTubevimeo.com/futuremakers
• Facebookfacebook.com/futuremakerkids
• Instagraminstagram.com/futuremakerkids
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/futuremakerskids

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FutureMakers