The Future Makers & Creators Tour Is Back in Session!
Sparking Curiosity, One School at a Time
School is back in session, and that means one of New Jersey’s most impactful student initiatives is hitting the road once again: the Future Makers & Creators Tour. As classrooms refill and hallways buzz with energy, so too does the opportunity to show the next generation what it means to make something meaningful right here in the Garden State.
This year, we’re hitting the gas, picking up where we left off after a wildly successful tour last school year. The goal? Keep that momentum going and reach even more students across even more counties. Because when students can see, touch, and interact with real-world manufacturing, it changes how they see their own potential.
Last Year’s Momentum, This Year’s Mission
From Trenton to Cape May and everywhere in between, the 2024–2025 school year saw the Future Makers & Creators Tour make a serious impact. Thousands of students across New Jersey had the chance to meet with local manufacturers, explore career pathways, and experience hands-on demonstrations in advanced manufacturing technologies through our mobile training lab.
This year, we’re not just repeating that success—we’re building on it. More counties. More schools. More real-life exposure to what a career in modern manufacturing actually looks like. These moments spark inspiration and set students on a path that might never have occurred to them otherwise.
What’s in the Tour?
This isn’t your typical school fair. The Future Makers & Creators Tour brings together industry, education, and opportunity under one roof with the help of our mobile advanced manufacturing training lab.
At each stop, students can:
- Interact with real equipment such as 3D printers, robotic arms, CNC mills, and AR welding simulators
- Speak directly with manufacturers, engineers, and technologists
- Learn how today’s manufacturing is driven by innovation, precision, and purpose
- Discover education and training paths that can lead directly into manufacturing careers
Whether students are hands-on builders, tech-savvy creators, or still figuring things out, the Tour provides a low-pressure, high-energy space to explore.
Powered by Purpose: NJMEP + NJEDA
The Future Makers & Creators Tour is powered in part by a shared mission between NJMEP and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)—a mission to develop a robust, local talent pipeline that’s ready to support and sustain New Jersey’s manufacturing economy.
This partnership ensures the tour isn’t just an awareness campaign, it’s an actionable initiative that closes workforce gaps by inspiring the very people who will one day fill those critical roles. Together, NJMEP and NJEDA are providing young minds with exposure to well-paying, stable careers they may have never known existed, right in their own communities.
Looking Ahead: Where We’re Headed Next
With stops already scheduled across multiple counties this school year, the tour is just getting started. And there’s room to grow—more schools, more students, and more manufacturers getting involved means a stronger, more prepared workforce down the line.
Educators and school administrators: If you’d like to bring the Future Makers & Creators Tour to your school, now is the time to reach out.
Manufacturers: If you want to meet the potential future workforce of tomorrow face to face, join us at one of the upcoming stops and get involved in inspiring the next generation of talent.
Let’s Build the Future, Together
New Jersey’s manufacturing industry isn’t going anywhere, but it is evolving. To stay strong, it needs a workforce that’s curious, capable, and inspired. The Future Makers & Creators Tour is helping make that happen, one school at a time.
To learn more or see where the tour is heading next, visit: www.njmep.org/makersandcreators