Project Ember

What Project Ember does

Project Ember is a Bay Area maker education camp that operates as a fictitious business name of Curiosity and Grit LLC, a California-registered limited liability company domiciled in Oakland. It serves families with children ages 7 through 17 across grade levels 2 through 12, delivering hands-on programs in which participants use real power tools (drills, miter saws, jigsaws) to design and build large-scale engineering and art projects such as marble runs, car washes, time machines, battleships, and art carts. Its product surface is intentionally narrow: Overnight Camp (a residential week-long program at Westminster Woods in the coastal redwoods for grades 5-12), Summer Day Camp (multi-day sessions for grades 2-8 historically hosted at venues such as RAFT in San Jose and Black Pine Circle in Berkeley), a Junior Collaborators leadership track for returning older campers, a Scholarships access program, and one-day custom workshops tailored to schools and organizations.

The business runs on an event-driven, seasonal go-to-market model. Families register and pay through UltraCamp, a third-party registration and payments platform, with marketing conducted via a Squarespace-hosted website, an active blog, Instagram, a MailChimp newsletter, and word-of-mouth. There is no proprietary software or technology platform; the underlying "technology" is the curated curriculum of ambitious project builds, the in-person instruction by directors and Collaborators, and a small Junior Collaborator labor pipeline. Venue partnerships with Westminster Woods, RAFT, Black Pine Circle, The Berkeley School, and Piedmont Makers Robotics Club provide access to facilities and materials without ownership of those assets.

Revenue is generated almost exclusively through camp registration fees from individual families, supplemented by fees from bespoke one-day workshops. The company has never raised external funding, holds no patents or trademarks, and as of February 2024 has placed both Overnight Camp and Summer Day Camp on indefinite hiatus. Scale indicators from the most recent disclosed operating seasons (2016-2017) suggest roughly 25-29 campers per overnight session with a handful of Collaborator staff, implying a small, sub-million-dollar annual revenue base at peak.

Name

Project Ember

Legal name

Curiosity and Grit LLC

Website

https://projectember.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Project Ember is a Bay Area maker education camp (DBA of Curiosity and Grit LLC) running day and overnight programs in which children ages 7-17 build large-scale engineering projects using real power tools; operations are currently on hiatus as of February 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Maker Education Camps

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Robotics, Engineering & Makers Camps (EDAMALAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts & Design Camps (Visual Arts, Crafts, Design Thinking) (EDAMALAH)

Keywords

• Maker education camps
• Summer youth programs
• STEAM education
• Hands-on engineering camps
• Children maker workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Camp Registration Fees: Revenue is generated through camp registration fees collected via UltraCamp, a third-party registration and payment processing system. Families pay to register their children for day camp, overnight camp, or one-day workshops.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Project Ember is an in-person maker education camp that runs overnight and day programs where children ages 7-17 collaborate to design and build large-scale engineering and art projects using real power tools. The company also delivers one-day workshops for schools and community organizations. Programs are currently on hiatus as of February 2024.

Product overview

Project Ember is a single-program maker education company offering hands-on summer camps where children ages 7-17 learn engineering and art through building large-scale projects. The core offering consists of Day Camp (for grades 2-8) and Overnight Camp (for grades 5-12), supplemented by a Junior Collaborators leadership program, scholarship support, and one-day workshops. Programs are currently on hiatus as of 2024.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Overnight Camp Week-long residential summer camp for children entering 5th through 12th grade, held at Westminster Woods in the California Coast redwoods. Campers collaborate to design and build large-scale engineering and art projects using real power tools under staff supervision.
• Day Camp Day program for children entering 2nd through 8th grade featuring daily maker projects such as marble runs, car washes, and art carts. Previously held at partner locations including Black Pine Circle School and RAFT in San Jose.
• Junior Collaborators Program Leadership development program that enables experienced alumni campers, typically ages 15-16, to develop mentorship and teaching skills by assisting younger campers with projects as Junior Collaborators.
• One-Day Workshops Single-day intensive maker workshops delivered to schools and organizations on customized topics such as Bowling Ball Billiards, Art-ering Ram print-making machines, Shuffleboard Gravity Carts, and Art Carts, with delivery to groups such as Piedmont Makers Robotics Club and Black Pine Circle School.
• Scholarships Financial assistance program that supports access to Project Ember's maker education programs for eligible families.

Quantifiable outcome

• Parents report remarkable growth in maturity and flexibility in their children after just one week of camp.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RAFT (Resource Area for Teachers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRAFT is a San Jose-based non-profit promoting hands-on, project-based learning in classrooms. Project Ember runs summer day camp sessions at RAFT's warehouse, utilizing their materials and facility for camp projects. The partnership enables access to RAFT's extensive supply of educational materials and maker supplies.
• Black Pine Circle SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlack Pine Circle School in Berkeley hosted multiple day camp sessions for Project Ember. The partnership provided facilities for one-day workshops and multi-day camp sessions including marble runs and color explosion projects.
• The Berkeley SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Berkeley School hosted Art Carts one-day workshop, providing campus facilities for a large group of kids to build rolling vehicles that could paint multiple canvases.
• Piedmont Makers Robotics ClubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Ember conducted a custom one-day Shuffleboard Gravity Carts workshop for the Piedmont Makers Robotics Club, demonstrating their ability to provide tailored maker education programs for partner organizations.
• Westminster WoodscoreOthersWestminster Woods is a camp venue in the Redwood Grove of the California Coast that hosts Project Ember's overnight camp programs. The location provides the natural setting for immersive week-long residential maker camps.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Camp EDMO: Bay Area summer day camps blending STEM, arts, and maker-style project learning for elementary and middle schoolers; directly comparable in geography, audience, and philosophy.
• Galileo Innovation Camps: Bay Area-based summer day and overnight camps focused on STEM, arts, and design thinking for K-8 students; the closest geographic and curricular analog to Project Ember's day/overnight maker model.
• Tinkering School: Founded by Gever Tulley, this Bay Area-based maker camp emphasizes real-tool, large-scale collaborative builds for kids — the closest philosophical and methodological analog to Project Ember.
• Empow Studios: STEM and maker-focused day camps and after-school programs for kids in the Bay Area and beyond, including engineering and design tracks; similar product surface and audience.
• Steve & Kate's Camp: National day-camp operator with maker, media, and hands-on learning labs that lets campers choose their own projects; comparable audience and self-directed maker ethos.
• Engineering For Kids: Franchised STEM/maker summer camps and after-school programs for ages 4-14 covering engineering, robotics, and design; comparable offering and audience with a national footprint.
• Play-Well TEKnologies: National engineering and maker summer-camp provider using LEGO and other materials for hands-on building programs for kids ages 5-14; comparable audience and engineering-camp category.

Broad incumbents

• iD Tech: National leader in STEM and maker summer camps for kids and teens, including engineering, robotics, and design tracks; broader and better-capitalized competitor in the same end market.

Emerging players

• DIY.org: Online maker-skills platform for kids with challenges, projects, and badges spanning engineering, art, and tinkering; thematic peer that shares the maker ethos but operates as a digital content/community rather than in-person camp.
• Maker Camp (Make: Community): Free online maker summer camp run by Make: Magazine targeting kids and families with daily themed build challenges; adjacent in spirit and curriculum style, though digital rather than in-person.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/project.ember
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/project-ember

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 Project Ember