Làng Maker
The Maker Village — a shared workshop, open since 2016
The robot is the tool, the child is the goal
It sounds backwards, but that is what the village does. The robot is not the goal — the child is what gets made. Once the robot has run, it goes back in the cupboard; what stays is a child who knows they can make things.
The programmable objects here are a child’s thinking partners, not a subject to memorise. Children think with the robot rather than learning about it.
The line goes back to the very first day, when the village was still called Maker Hanoi: “Your contributions, we share” — in English, from day one.
What is Làng Maker?
Làng Maker is an open, non-profit makerspace, built by the MakerViet · ThingEdu · Rogo community after ten years of open-source work and STEM education in Vietnam.
“Open” is the heart of it: open knowledge, open source, an open model — anyone can join in, contribute, and benefit.
Vision
Every Vietnamese child has the chance to access STEM and robotics, to think independently and to master technology.
Mission
Bring STEM and robotics to one million Vietnamese children within five years, through an open education ecosystem, Made-in-Vietnam products, and a nationwide community network.
People of the village
The village has no classes sorted by age. Newcomers learn beside skilled hands, on the same real task.
Dân làng (Villager)
A newcomer. Plays first; needs to know nothing and sign up for nothing yet. Every child who walks into the village starts here.
Thợ học việc (Apprentice)
Has picked something they want to make and is learning the trade beside a master. Not certified yet, but has already broken things with their own hands and fixed them again.
Thợ cả (Master)
Has mastered a trade and can bring others along. At Làng Maker, a thợ cả leads the session — not by lecturing, but by making alongside.
Già làng (Village Elder)
Leads the whole village and certifies other people’s skills. Keeps the village’s ways more than its knowledge.
Nghệ nhân (Artisan)
Someone with a trade of their own outside the village — woodwork, electrics, pottery, sewing, metalwork — who drops in to pass on a skill. They stand beside the ladder, not on it, and that is fine.
A child who walks into the village is a dân làng. The way up is real — and it closes the loop at the Share beat, when they come back to guide the next group.
The village’s guides
Four roles. Three of them are also rungs on the ladder above — today’s guide was once a dân làng.
Già Làng
certifiedLeads the whole village and certifies other people’s skills.
Does not teach every week. Turns up at the eighth session to hear the children present, and is the one who signs off when a thợ học việc is ready to become a thợ cả.
Bô Lão (Elder Counsel)
A respected elder of the village — advises, does not grade.
Sits at the table when the village talks about big things — opening a new site, handling a hard problem. Certifies no one, and is not part of the training path.
Nghệ nhân
Someone with a trade of their own outside the village, who drops in to pass on a skill.
Woodwork, electrics, pottery, sewing, metalwork — each person brings one real trade. They come for a session, teach exactly what they know how to do, and go back to their own workshop.
Thợ cả
certifiedLeads the weekly session — the closest of the four to the children.
Makes alongside the children for all seven project sessions. Does not lecture and does not fix things for them; when the robot veers off, asks questions back until the child finds the mistake themselves.
Guides at the Maker Hubs
Lê Ngọc Tuấn
Già Làng
Founder of Maker Hanoi
Đàm Phi Hùng
Bô Lão
Coach of Vietnam’s team at the FIRST Global Challenge, and a former team member
Làng Maker — FPT Shop 190 Xã Đàn
Trịnh Trần Viết Hưng
Nghệ nhân
Member of Vietnam’s 2022 team, world bronze medallist
Làng Maker — 29 Dương Khuê
Phạm Việt
Nghệ nhân
FIRST Tech Challenge Vietnam referee, member of the Thái Phiên robotics team
Làng Maker — 29 Dương Khuê
The list is still growing. Do you guide at a hub? Introduce yourself →
Ten years
“I want to create many labs like Maker Hanoi in schools, rural areas, provinces in Vietnam. All young people need to have access to technology, have dreams for themselves. We want to bring STEM, Robotic to everyone.”
May 2016
A shared workshop opens in Hanoi
Maker Hanoi is born — a member of the global FabLab network, run as a non-profit. Its motto from day one: your contributions, we share.
Source: Slide “Maker Hanoi — Review”, lưu trữ Google Drive · hồ sơ fablabs.io
Aug 2016
ABC Maker on VTV3’s morning show
The ABC Maker kit and Maker Hanoi’s robot classes for children are featured on VTV3’s breakfast show.
▶ Xem phóng sự Café sáng VTV3 (6 phút)
Source: Video “ABC Maker - Cafe Sang VTV3” trên YouTube, đăng 29/8/2016 (kiểm 07/11/2026)
3 Dec 2016
The first IoT festival, made by the community itself
Vietnam IoT Weekend takes place in the FPT building on Duy Tân Street, Cầu Giấy — no professional organiser, just people who love to build.
Source: Slide “Maker Hanoi — Review”, lưu trữ Google Drive
11 Dec 2016
National television comes to the workshop
VTV runs a story calling Maker Hanoi “a destination for young people who love technology”.
▶ Xem video Maker Hanoi, 11/12/2016 (3 phút)
Source: vtv.vn, bản tin công nghệ 11/12/2016 (kiểm còn truy cập được 2026-09-06) · video “Maker Hanoi” kênh MakerViet, đăng 11/12/2016 · ảnh đoàn quay phim tại xưởng, slide “ABC Maker Việt - Làng Maker 2022” (slide không ghi ngày chụp)
May 2017
Coding for children: UMI
Maker Hanoi’s UMI (U make it) programme: children build and program their own products.
Source: Video “Lập trình cho trẻ em - UMI - Maker Hanoi” kênh MakerViet, đăng 3/5/2017 (kiểm 07/11/2026)
June 2017
The words that shaped the next ten years
The founder writes down what he wants: many labs like this one, in schools, in the countryside, in the provinces. The name “Làng Maker” does not exist yet.
Source: Slide “Maker Hanoi — Review”, lưu trữ Google Drive
Jan 2018
Vietnam IoT Day — bringing the community together
The second festival, held at Lương Yên Coworking.
Source: Slide “Maker Hanoi — Review”, lưu trữ Google Drive
2017–2018
Onto the international stage
Maker Hanoi has stood with Team Vietnam since the 2017 FIRST Global Challenge: a place to practise, mechanics and coding taught from scratch, and the story told on VTV3. The FGC records continue, unbroken, in the community’s archive from 2018 to this day.
▶ Xem Café sáng VTV3 về đội tuyển (3 phút)
Source: Slide “Maker Viet”, lưu trữ Google Drive · video “Café sáng với VTV3 - FRIT Team”, đăng 28/6/2017 · thư mục FIRST ROBOTIC/FGC 2018 đến FGC 2026
May 2018
Mobile Maker goes to Hưng Yên
A primary-school STEM and robotics conference in Hưng Yên: the whole commune hall watches the children build and program robots right at the table, parents and teachers standing around. The first mobile-workshop trip.
Source: Album ảnh “Mobile Maker Hưng Yên” (26/5/2018), Google Photos
2018–2019
Cuộc Đua Số (the Digital Race)
A self-driving car competition becomes a real problem to solve, and the data source for the community’s line of autonomous cars.
Source: Slide “Maker Hanoi — Review”, lưu trữ Google Drive
Jun–Aug 2019
UMI summer class and Mini FIRST
Four days of UMI (U make it): every child builds and programs their own robot, and the class lines up with their creations at the end. In August, Mini FIRST: the first robot match for 6–10 year olds on a taped-out floor field.
Source: Album ảnh “UMI GM Day 1–4” (8–29/6/2019) và “Mini First” (17/8/2019), Google Photos
2020
VIA — an open-source self-driving car
Maker Bot 2020 and the VIA project: an open self-driving car with a simulator, a community-contributed dataset, and Vietnamese voice control. The same year sees the Vietnam STEAM Challenge.
Source: Slide “Maker Hanoi — Review” · thư mục Vietnam STEAM Challenge 2020, lưu trữ Google Drive · album ảnh “VSC 2020” (25–26/7/2020), Google Photos
2021
Vietnam STEAM Challenge, season two
The home competition carries on, between two years of the pandemic.
▶ Xem hình ảnh cuộc thi từ 2020 (2 phút)
Source: Thư mục Vietnam STEAM Challenge 2021, lưu trữ Google Drive · video “Vietnam Robotics Challenge - Những hình ảnh cuộc thi từ 2020” kênh MakerViet
May 2022
Taking the workshop on the road
The Mobile Maker Tour reaches Quy Nhơn — the ExploraScience science centre and the Fschool campus.
Source: Video kênh MakerViet, đăng 28 và 31/5/2022 · ảnh trong slide “ABC Maker Việt - Làng Maker 2022”, lưu trữ Google Drive
June 2022
Vietnam Robotics Challenge finals
The VRC 2022 final round, filmed in 360 degrees.
Source: Video kênh MakerViet, đăng 28/6/2022
Oct 2022
Team Vietnam in Geneva
FIRST Global Challenge 2022 at Palexpo, Geneva.
Source: Video kênh MakerViet, đăng 12 và 13/10/2022 · album ảnh “FGC 2022” (13–16/10/2022), Google Photos
2023
The year of training guides
An Arduino course for beginners, the Maker Tech-Tutor programme to train technology tutors, and the CoBot robot for classrooms. The village starts making thợ cả of its own.
Source: Video kênh MakerViet đăng 26/5, 26/11 và 24/12/2023 · thư mục VRC 2023, lưu trữ Google Drive
2024–2025
The kit becomes a product
ThingBot and the ThingBlock block-programming software launch, followed by the 2025–2026 ThingBot Kit. The FIRST Global journey goes on.
Source: Video kênh MakerViet đăng 7/3/2025 và 25/12/2025 · thư mục FGC 2024, FGC 2025, lưu trữ Google Drive
Apr–May 2025
A Maker Việt field in Thái Nguyên
Thái Nguyên Robotics Contest and Thái Nguyên STEAM Challenge: the playing field carries the Maker Việt logo, and local secondary students compete in robotics and 3D-designed farm tools. Mobile Maker goes to the provinces again, this time alongside a provincial competition.
Source: Album ảnh “Mobile Maker Thái Nguyên” (13/4–18/5/2025), Google Photos
Oct 2025
Team Vietnam in Panama
FIRST Global Challenge 2025 in Panama City. Team Vietnam brought a robot they built and an engineering notebook they wrote; after the games, the team came back to the village to teach the younger ones.
Source: Thư mục FIRST ROBOTIC/FGC 2025/TeamVN, lưu trữ Google Drive · bài tổng kết fanpage Team Vietnam - FIRST Global, 03/11/2025
2026
Three Maker Hubs open their doors
190 Xã Đàn and 29 Dương Khuê in Hanoi, and FPT Shop Quang Trung in Thanh Hóa. What was written down in 2017 finally has an address.
Source: Danh sách Maker Hub đang hoạt động của chính website này
Ten years of making the kit
What got made was never these robots — it was the people who know how to make them.
Làng Maker locations
Three locations are open. The first session is free, on weekends, 60–90 minutes. Session times vary by location: get in touch before you come.
Làng Maker — FPT Shop 190 Xã Đàn
190 Xã Đàn, Đống Đa, Hà Nội
Contact: lang@makerviet.org
Open mapLàng Maker — 29 Dương Khuê
29 Dương Khuê, Cầu Giấy, Hà Nội
Contact: lang@makerviet.org
Open mapLàng Maker — FPT Shop Quang Trung
Đường Quang Trung, TP. Thanh Hóa, Thanh Hóa
Contact: lang@makerviet.org
Open map
How do you join the village?
The first session is free, and no experience is needed.
Get a head start before your first visit: 10 ThingBot Sim lessons run in the browser on a laptop or tablet, nothing to install, no robot needed. They are the warm-up for every Village activity.