What exactly is a makerspace? Are you a DIY kind of person? Do you enjoy building, baking, crafting, knitting, coding, or any other number of activities that involve using your hands and brain to create something? If so, then you probably value having the time and materials to bring your creations to life! Simply put, that's just what a makerspace is: a place where people come together to make things. Much research is being done on the value of teaching students how to make, or rather, giving them the opportunity to discover just what they CAN make. It turns out that "making" can embrace a whole lot of valuable skills, such as planning, problem solving, and collaboration. Many school and public libraries have begun to incorporate space and tools inside their buildings for making. 2016 was our first year with a library makerspace and it was a big hit! Many students enjoyed the opportunity to create with "low-tech" materials, such as Lego, foam building blocks, magnet tiles, fabric and cardboard. Each year we see more students using the makerspace and branching out into new areas such as green screen filming, coding, and robotics. We now have some of these technologies available regularly within our school, thanks to various fundraisers. If you have any materials you would like to donate to our makerspace, whether high or low tech, please contact Mrs. Upper at [email protected]. Thanks! |
|