Creative Lab and Innovation | Creativity and Technology

Tinkertank

—

Our creative lab, a permanent initiative

tinkertank.de

Education

Coding

Design

Youth

Creativity

Making

Participation

Music

Game

Workshop

At Tinkertank, technology, design, and imagination form a creative blend of disciplines. Here, people of all ages discover creativity as a tool for problem-solving and self-empowerment.

Founded in 2013 as a holiday camp for children, Tinkertank quickly grew into our award-winning, permanently established educational initiative with its own makerspace.

Today, Tinkertank offers a wide range of activities: from workshops for young people and adults to mentor trainings, collaborations with artists and festivals, and tailored professional development programs for institutions, municipalities, and companies. All offerings share the same philosophy: connecting technology and creativity, sparking curiosity, strengthening self-efficacy, and fostering the courage for collective creative processes.

A group of seven people stands in an alleyway between two buildings. They are wearing different outfits – ranging from workwear and overalls to casual shirts and tops – and look relaxed at the camera. The image has the feel of a team portrait that highlights cohesion and diversity. — Our Tinkertank team in Ludwigsburg

It’s an inviting space that supports everyone to get started tinkering.
Ryan Jenkins (Exploratorium / Wonderful Idea Co.), about the new Tinkertank makerspace in Ludwigsburg

On a wooden table stands a gray flowerpot decorated with green LED light strips, wires, and electronic components. Small plant leaves emerge from the pot, with sensors and circuit boards attached around it. Surrounding the pot are cables, notes, tools, and crafting materials.

Two young adults wearing masks stand at a crafting table, examining a silver metal bucket that appears to be part of a creative project. The table is covered with colorful foil, wires, circuit boards, and various workshop materials.

Close-up of a workshop scene: a young person’s hands are assembling a creative construction using colorful materials, wood, plastic parts, and wires. More crafting materials and people can be seen in the background.

Two young women carry old electronic devices, likely for a repair or recycling project. Both are wearing masks and move through a busy space with other people visible in the background.

Tinkertank Impressions

At Tinkertank, we teach key skills for a world in transition

Tinkertank embraces an open, playful approach where technology is not taught abstractly but made experiential through practice and hands-on experience. Children, young people, and adults learn to use tools and materials creatively, to experiment together, and to bring their own ideas to life.

The focus is not on perfect results but on the process: trying out, failing, rethinking, and starting again. Mistakes are not obstacles but an essential part of learning as they open new paths, foster teamwork, and bring the power of one’s own ideas to life.

In this way, a space is created that nurtures design skills, self-confidence, and problem-solving abilities – skills that reach far beyond individual projects and matter in school, everyday life, and work environments.

One thing is clear: tinkering doesn’t just mean building – it means reinventing yourself. Out of courage. Out of curiosity. Out of the insight that sometimes all it takes are the right tools to make the impossible possible.
LUDWIG – The City Magazine for Ludwigsburg

The Tinkertank Program

Our society and our lives are permeated by technology. On the surface, this fascinating world of technology appears smooth and perfect. The Tinkertank project breaks open this glossy façade and looks with curiosity and delight into the cracks that appear within it.
From the jury’s statement for the German Federal Award for Cultural Education (BKM Award)

Tinkertank is active nationwide and internationally well connected:

Tinkertank offers its workshops across Germany and beyond, and has already been present at numerous events – including in Hamburg, Kiel, Regensburg, Dortmund, and Vorarlberg. Appearances have also included re:publica and TinCon, as well as the first MINTvernetzt Thinkathon, where Tinkertank delivered the Inspirational Keynote.

Most recently, the creative lab presented an interactive chain reaction machine at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz and took part in the International Hack Camp in York (UK).

In addition, Tinkertank has curated and coordinated Code Week Baden-Württemberg for several years – part of the Europe-wide EU initiative with 17 regional branches in Germany. This has created a strong network that makes Tinkertank visible not only in Baden-Württemberg but also in the nationwide mentor network of Code Week.

Recognized and Acclaimed

For its innovative approach, Tinkertank was honored with the German Federal Award for Cultural Education (BKM Award) in 2016 and the Dieter Baacke Award in 2015. The BKM jury particularly praised the “playful and unconventional combination of art, technology, media, and nature,” which makes Tinkertank unique across Germany.

These achievements underline one thing: Tinkertank creates spaces where design is not just an idea but a lived practice. What counts is not the individual result, but how people unfold their ideas, think together, and create lasting impact.

Back to projects page