Post 8: MakerSpace Blogshare

 


Multicolor letters spelling out MakerSpace
Multicolor letters spelling Makerspace on a wooden shelf


          Library MakerSpaces are places where students can actively create, explore, and learn. No more passively waiting for the next instruction, students solve problems, design solutions, and think outside of the box. Students are developing the skills outlined in the AASL's 21st Century Standards while building social skills and confidence  and becoming life long learners (Canino-Fluit, 2014).  MakerSpaces are the place where students can tinker, apply digital and manual skills, research, experiment, create products, and express themselves. In other words, MakerSpaces are for actively learning and creating not just passively consuming information (Britton, 2012). 

        The blog I want to share is by Amy Cowen on the Science Buddies.org site. She shares 26 MakerSpace projects with links to instructions for STEM activites for all ages. The projects are free to access and many of the supplies are free or cheap to obtain, making them a great way to start out in a MakerSpace. My peresonal favorites are "Build a Catapult" using recycled popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and bottle caps (which also be great for a STEM Earth Day activity) and "Marble Run" using cardboard tubes and tape. Marble Run is a digital game many students play and turning this into a hands-on STEM challenge would bring their digital life into their real life. Other activities include robitics, K'Nex, and 3D printing challenges. 


26 Projects to Jump-start Your Makerspace | Science Buddies Blog


Words Maker STEM: Build a Catapult 
Wooden popsicle sticks held together in the shapr of an x witt rubberbands, a bottle cap glued to one end.   Source: www.science buddies.org


Words Maker STEM: Marble Run
1 hand assembling cardboard tubes into tunnel using colorful tape.
  Source: www.science buddies.org


 References: 

Britton, L. (2012, October 1). The makings of maker spaces, part 1: Space for creation, not just consumption. The Digital Shift. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/10/public-services/the-makings-of-maker-spaces-part-1-space-for-creation-not-just-consumption/

Canino-Fluit, A. (2014). School Library Makerspaces: Making It up as I Go. Teacher Librarian, 41(5), 21–27.

Cowen, A. (2022, November 4). 26 STEM Activities for Your Makerspace! [audio blog]. Retrieved November 5, 2022, from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/makerspace-projects.


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