Image contains various craft materials, including straws, scissors, a lightbulb, battery and colored popsicle sticks. Also included is the text "So you want to start a MakerSpace?"
While MakerSpaces continue to pop up in libraries across the nation, my school has offered a MakerLab within the Related Arts rotation for several years. During their time in the MakerLab students collaborate to design and create various projects/ideas utilizing a variety of resources. Because this space already exists in our school, I knew that it wouldn't be necessary to incorporate a full MakerSpace into my library. However, that doesn't mean that I'm not interested in learning more about them and all of the wonderfully different ways they may look. After all, there is not guarantee that I will always be in a school with an existing MakerSpace.
One of my favorite ideas from the resources this week was presented in Dr. Moorefield-Lang's lecture. She mentions that Laura Fleming describes a MakerSpaces as "a unique learning environment that encourages tinkering, play and open ended exploration for all" (TechFifteen, 2021). As an educator, I see the value in allowing students to delve into their creative side and collaborate with others to explore ideas. However, the thought of trying to create such a space on my own seems overwhelming! On my quest for more information, I came across a blog by Brooke Brown called Teach Outside The Box. While her whole blog has a lot of wonderful resources, I focused on the blog post entitled So You Want to Start a Makerspace? She does a wonderful job of describing the components and set up of a MakerSpace. What I love most about this site is that she includes many photos of all the different ways these spaces can look and function. It just goes to show that these spaces really depend on the community they serve.
Throughout her blog post, Brown also provides a variety of lists detailing materials that could be included in a MakerSpace, where these items can be gathered from, and links to resources such as posters and task cards. One of the resources I found interested was the Maker Mats for each month. These would be an easy way for anyone to start incorporating a MakerSpace into their area.
Image contains examples of Maker Mats for each month.
I would strongly encourage anyone interested in joining the MakerSpace movement to take a peek at Brooke Brown's blog. It is extremely insightful and offers a lot of quality ideas and information. Some other posts of hers that might be helpful as well include:
Resources:
Brown, B. (2022, April 14). So You Want to Start a Makerspace? Teach Outside the Box. https://teachoutsidethebox.com/so-you-want-to-start-a-makerspace/
TechFifteen. (2021, May 18). Makerspaces Summer. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWQ6B4UnZaA
I loved seeing on the blog you shared her makerspace 5 years ago and what it looks like present time. I think that is a huge part of makerspaces that frighten people is that you do not have to have every little thing to start one. I also thought the maker mats are a great idea. If these were provided by the library, I believe classroom teachers would love to give this as an assignment especially during weeks that are near holidays or end of the year. It would really incorporate larger thinking skills and still make it fun for the student. Thank you for sharing this idea! Caroline Hoppe
ReplyDeleteCheryl,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post! I really enjoyed exploring Brooke Brown’s blog and Maker Space suggestions. The library I am currently working in has the start of a lab but is missing some of the consumables that allow even more creativity. The maker mats were interesting, and I will point my librarian to this resource. The link to Brooke Brown’s read aloud suggestions were also great. I know we have a few of these books in our library and it would be great to use some of her suggestions in the future. Thanks for sharing a wonderful blog.
Christine Donaldson
Hey Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteGreat resource! I enjoyed the 10 read alouds for elementary school. I got some great ideas from the post. This year we did a school wide "dot day" so I found some interesting ways to change it up for next year. The makertree was very cute too! I love the idea of having the students make their own ornaments, I will definitely have to try this. Thanks so much for sharing.
Erin Castle