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Parents' Guide to

Mister Maker

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Fun arts and crafts how-to show teaches creative skills.

TV YouTube Educational 2007
Mister Maker Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

  • Mister Maker Series: Setting up a clay sofa.
  • Mister Maker Series: Mister Maker gets an idea.
  • TMister Maker Series: he Shapes are dancing.
  • Mister Maker Series: Making a cactus out of bubble wrap.

Community Reviews

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age 3+

Based on 1 parent review

HotNate
HotNate Adult
October 23, 2021
age 3+

Wish Nate was here…

As parents we should know what to show our kids and what not too. My child loves to do arts and crafts and when I heard about Mister Maker the first thing that came to my mind was “he can teach my son different art styles” but no it’s not really like that. There’s a really creepy owl thing that pops out of the clock and scared my son half to death. One time my 3 yr old daughter came walking into the room with Mister maker on and she got an anxiety attack from how scary the owl was. We had to take many lessons on helping her to get better as she had too many night mares and every time we walk past clocks she starts to have a break down. If this keeps on happening soon she’ll never know how to tell the time as she can’t go near clocks. My son on the other hand is more scared of the deep voice by ‘rectangle’. All of the shapes have higher voices letting him be calm but once the rectangles Voice came on he started to mess up a little. At first it wasn’t so bad, I though it was just him having some nightmares and we were too busy looking after my daughter but later on, he started to attack men who had really deep voices saying “DONT COME NEVER MY FAMILY!” He never really hurt anyone but it’s still really a big shock very embarrassing and disrespectful. Unlike small potato’s with Nate being a kind soul, my kids are getting terrified from this behaviour from mister maker.
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

MISTER MAKER (2007-2009) is a live-action British arts and crafts-themed series for preschoolers. It features Phil Gallagher as Mister Maker, an energetic, magical man full of lots of interesting ideas. Using all sorts of scraps, art supplies, and ordinary household odds and ends, he shows viewers how to repurpose them into creative, fun art projects, home made instruments, toys, and other items. In between the moments when Gallagher is coming up with ideas or creating, videos featuring dancing and singing shapes, a group of children in colorful costumes moving into artistic formations, and other activities are shown.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (2 ):

This lively and creative series shows how ordinary household items and random objects, with the help of some imagination and a few basic supplies, can be reused for creating and building. The projects are simple, and despite the quick pace, the explanations short and clear enough for small children to follow. While it reinforces manual skills like cutting, folding, gluing, and painting, each episode also features content that teaches children about concepts like colors, shapes, numbers, and letters. Overall, Mister Maker contributes to early STEM learning, but also nurtures the young budding artist.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about creativity. What does it mean to be creative? Can anyone make art?

  • Kids: What are some of your favorite art projects featured on Mister Maker? Have you tried to make them on your own? If so, how did they turn out?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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