Makerspace and STEM

Our school’s makerspace, the Wildcat Workshop, was established in 2014 under the leadership of former Chester A. Arthur teacher Michael Franklin. Since then, MANAS has supported the Wildcat Workshop through promoting the installation of a podcast booth in 2018 and by purchasing materials like 3D printing filament that keep the makerspace humming. In 2025, Marian Anderson was the only Philadelphia public school to have winning student projects in the Carver Science Fair, National History Day Philly, and the Philly Media and Design Competition. All of these projects were created in the Wildcat Workshop. MANAS helped provide the materials that made these projects possible.

The Wildcat Workshop is also the homebase for our school’s WHYY Media Lab and FIRST LEGO League robotics programs. In both 2024 and 2025, more than 70 students participated in an after school robotics club. These award-winning robotics clubs were supported in part by MANAS, alongside the Philadelphia Robotics Coalition, the Neubauer Foundation, the Lori and Mike Fife Foundation, and Donors Choose mini grant projects. Additionally, every student in the school has access to the robotics materials purchased by MANAS.