Ages 8–14 · 2 hours · Free
Teardown Lab
The flagship session. Full disassembly, part identification, reassembly, plus an upcycle build to take home. Lab coats and tools provided.
Dates announced by email
Workshops
Free, hands-on, and genuinely messy.
Our core programme is built for kids ages 8–14, and we run adult and family sessions alongside it. Nobody watches a slideshow. Everybody leaves with something they took apart themselves.
The curriculum
What students actually learn
A full workshop runs about two hours and moves through four stages. Shorter classroom visits cover the first two.
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STAGE 01
Hardware disassembly
Goggles and lab coats on. Students open a donated desktop or laptop and pull it down to the board drive including RAM, CPU, fan and power supply, learning what each component does and how to handle it without damaging it.
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STAGE 02
Troubleshooting & repair
Now put it back. We teach the diagnostic habit: change one thing, test, repeat. Students learn why a machine won't post, how to swap a drive or stick of RAM, and how to tell "broken" from "just needs cleaning".
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STAGE 03
Cybersecurity basics
Once you've held the drive in your hand, data stops being abstract. We cover strong passwords, phishing, what "the cloud" physically is, safe habits online, and how to properly erase a device before you give it away.
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STAGE 04
Upcycle build
The parts that can't be reused become material. Students design and build something to take home: a disc clock, a board sculpture, a set of platter coasters. It's the part they talk about on the way out.
Find a workshop
Sessions we run
Filter by who it's for. Dates are set once a venue confirms then join the list and we'll email you the next one near you.
Everyone · 90 min · Free
Stay Safe Online
Passwords, phishing, privacy settings and where your data actually lives and taught with a real hard drive on the table, not a slide deck.
Dates announced by email
Family · 2 hours · Free
Upcycle Studio
Kids and grown-ups at the same table, building clocks and sculptures out of dead hardware. The lowest-pressure way to try us out.
Dates announced by email
Adults · 2 hours · Free
Computer Confidence
For anyone who feels behind: files and folders, updates, scams and robocalls, backing things up, and what to do when it freezes.
Dates announced by email
Adults · 1 hour · Free
Wipe It Before You Ditch It
Bring the phone, tablet or laptop you're ready to let go of. We'll walk you through erasing it properly then recycle it for you on the spot.
Dates announced by email
Everyone · Drop-in · Free
Collection & Repair Day
Drop off e-waste, watch a teardown, or bring a machine that's acting up and we'll take a look. Come for ten minutes or stay all afternoon.
Dates announced by email
Get the next date in your inbox
Tell us the age of your student and your part of town, and we'll let you know what's closest.
Host a workshop
Bring eWasteGang to your school or community centre
We travel to schools, libraries, after-school programmes, churches, scout troops and community centres across Montgomery County and the surrounding area. There's no fee. Here's exactly how it goes.
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1
Send us the basics
Use the form here or email us. We need your organisation, roughly how many students, their ages, and two or three dates that could work.
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2
We'll call to scope it
A fifteen-minute conversation. We'll confirm which session fits your group and how long we have, anything from a 45-minute classroom visit to a full two-hour lab.
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3
You provide the room
Tables that can get messy, chairs, power outlets, and one staff member or chaperone in the room. A gym, cafeteria, library or classroom all work fine.
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4
We bring everything else
Donated machines, tools, gloves, safety goggles, lab coats, table covering, and mentors. We set up before your students arrive and clean up after.
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5
Workshop day
Students build something, take it home, and we haul away any e-waste your building wants gone. If you'd like photos for your newsletter, tell us in advance and we'll respect whatever media policy you have.
Request a workshop
This opens a pre-filled email in your mail app — nothing is sent until you press send. Prefer to write it yourself? Just email service@ewastegang.org.
Every workshop runs on donated hardware.
The machines students take apart came from someone's closet. If you have old equipment sitting around, that's the raw material for the next session.