Engineering Education and solutions using low cost and recycled materials when possible.
Makerspaces
At our makerspaces, we teach students how to have fun learning by building projects they are interested in. In Trondheim we are working with schools to setup makerspaces for the students.
Engineering Solutions For Marginalized People
We create engineering solutions for marginalized people all over the globe. We design, build and test prototypes and then provide wordless language-independent instructions for people to recreate our solutions using local and low-cost materials. We then create a feedback loop so we can receive feedback from people that have built and used our solutions locally so we can improve the designs. This picture shows one of our locally built wind turbines creating power on a rooftop in Mexico. This wind turbine was hand-carved from wood and build with recycled materials using our design instructions. With a few dollars of materials, this family was able to produce electricity to power their home and empowered them to create more solutions to improve their lives.
Comments from parents
“…Alex is just great with kids, I have never met someone who manages to answer every single question (and he gets bombarded with them!) in a way that keeps it so interesting and simple for kids. Alex’s love for children and passion for engineering are beyond words. Highly recommend!!”
“It provides a great opportunity to learn about technique under the skilled guidance of Alex. It goes a step further than at school, creating a good sense of achievement. My daughter really enjoyed going there.”
“…Understated engineering was a perfect afterschool activity for our boys. They loved the cool space filled with materials and tools where they could try their hands at making anything. Alex created a great atmosphere that really appealed to their imagination.”
“My two kids of 8 and 10 followed classes with Understated Engineering. Alexander is working with small groups of children (he is great with kids!) creating machines out of waste material. These are the classes I would have liked as a kid. It is a pity he moved out of the Netherlands; it turns out it’s difficult to find something similar over here. I highly recommend his makerspace to your children: they will have great fun and learn on the way.”
“The makerspace class opened my 6-year-old’s eyes to the world of building and electronics. He learned the concept of a circuit in such a hands-on way by building a little robot out of pieces of cardboard and popsicle sticks. We loved the ingenuity and creativity that was to be found among the bits of recycled plastic, rubber, and electronics parts. My son only took part in a few classes before the class moved to Norway, but still he took a lot away from it. We were sad to see it go, and still miss it! It inspired us to try building some things at home, and I love how my son gained the confidence to go at a circuit without hesitation, connecting wires and testing switches. Alex has a fun, hands-on approach with the kids, and gives them freedom to be creative but stands by to teach and guide.”
“Hello families- I took my 12 year old to meet Alex tonight at his maker space. If you have children (starting at age 6) interested in taking things apart, building motors, robots, etc. from recyclables and used electronics, his space is perfect. Highly recommend you check it out! We signed up :)”
“We signed out boys aged 9 and 11 up to maker space classes with Alexander and the boys had a ball. They said they learned how easy electronics could be.”
Understated Engineering 