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"Last year I started Makerspaces in my library as a way to give my students more opportunities to be "hands-on" in their learning.  (You can read about my Makerspace beginnings here.)  I definitely learned a lot by jumping right in, and as with most things, found that some parts worked great while others needed some tweaking.  At the end of the year, I did an informal survey with mainly 3rd through 5th grade asking them "What lesson/activity did you enjoy the most in the library" and MANY of them mentioned our Makerspace activities.   I was super happy to hear that, and planned on continuing Makerspaces again this year."

"Each time I see students using our makerspace tools I see possibilities.  I see the problem solving that goes into each attempt and each failure.  I see the curiosity and energy that students bring with them.  I begin to make connections to the more structured curriculum that students use in their classrooms.  So far, I have been the main person to offer ideas to our teachers on how our makerspace supports the Common Core and the Georgia Performance Standards.  However, I don't want to be the only one.  Since every lesson that happens in the library is a collaboration between me, the classroom teachers, and other support teachers, I want their wheels to be turning about our makerspace as well."

"I believe that every child has the right to invent, tinker, create, innovate, make, and do. The maker movement has created opportunities for all educators to give students authentic learning opportunities that go beyond the typical classroom experiences and to rethink traditional learning environments to include those that nurture the kinds of creativity and innovation that will benefit our students both in school and beyond. We know children learn by exploring and playing and doing and making and that these kinds of things lead to deeper engagement. The maker movement embodies opportunities for experimentation and innovation to occur across all grade levels and all content areas. Physical makerspaces have allowed us the opportunity to pull some of this excitement of the maker movement into our schools. Makerspaces can help set the stage for meaningful student learning, as well as help cultivate a culture of innovation within a school. My makerspace inspires innovation, passion, and personal motivation and interests, and has encouraged students to pursue STEM subjects and careers."

"As this year draws to a close, we can't help but reflect upon some of our favorite makerspace things.  Upon doing so, Travis Lape and I, have compiled a list of our 'Top Ten Favorite Makerspace Items of 2015'.  In this post, we have provided links to all of the products, as well as a brief description of each. It is our hope, that this versatile and fun list will get you thinking about things you have never thought of before and help your makerspaces to continue to grow and evolve."

"Guidelines and instructions are not the enemy of makerspaces.  Working through guided projects can help students to develop the skills that they need to further explore creatively.  It's true that some students can just figure it out, but most need that gentle push to get them started.  While things like LEGOs and K'nex are intuitive, many other activities are not.  If you just sat me down in front of an Arduino with no guidance, I wouldn't have a clue what to do.  But after following some example projects, I can start to feel more comfortable with branching out on my own. The problem comes when all we ever do are guided projects.  Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager warn against the "20 identical birdhouses" style class projects, where there is zero creativity involved.  It's very easy to fall into the trap of focusing too much on standards, rubrics and guided projects and zapping all the fun and creativity out, turning a makerspace into nothing more than another classroom.  It's tempting for many educators to just print out a list of instructions, sit students down in front of a "maker kit" and check their e-mail while students work through the steps one by one.  This is obviously not what we want in our makerspaces."

"Some makerspace components are so commonly known that I can even use them to explain my job to non-educators: "I'm our makerspace coordinator. You know, the person who supports the kids with 3D printing and basic electronics and stuff like that." Then they know exactly what I mean. (I can tell because they respond with "Wow! That sounds like the best job ever!" They're right!) Educators planning makerspaces know they can start small with simple circuitry materials, cardboard and hot glue guns. Or they can go bigger with soldering capabilities and power drills. Or they can go to the biggest with 3D printers and laser cutters."

"When I first started my makerspace at Stewart, I had no idea what I was doing.  I just had three bins of K'nex and a vision for what our makerspace could be.  Shortly after we got our supplies, we began 6th grade clubs that met during school.  I started the K'nex club.  The next year we created during school clubs for all grades, so I started STEAM clubs for each grade, which was basically open exploration time in our makerspace.  The next year I helped co-found our afterschool club program, where my Makers Club took off. Now at Tampa Prep, I've started a Maker Mondays club where we have different themed projects each week after school for an hour.  Since we already had a VR lab when I got there, I started an 8th Grade VR club this year during middle school lunch. At both of my schools, variations of Makers Clubs have been a huge catalyst in my makerspace programs."

"Excitement about school makerspaces has been in the air, but many educators eager to create hands-on learning spaces in their schools still aren't sure how to get started or why it's worth the effort. New Canaan High School librarian Michelle Luhtala recently jumped headfirst into creating a makerspace in her library and documented what she learned, how her space changed and how it affected students along the way. Her experience was very different from elementary school librarian Andy Plemmons, whose makerspace started with a 3-D printer obtained through a grant and blossomed into a core teaching resource at his school."

"Makerspace or STEM projects for kids don't have to be complicated or expensive.  In fact, some of the best projects use recycled or repurposed items like cardboard or soda bottles which means nothing to buy. Below, we've compiled some of our favorite projects that are great for makerspaces. Learn how to make a boat out of a soda bottle, create a car from cardboard and many more. Let get started !"

"An increasing number of K-12 schools are transforming classrooms, libraries or other spaces into Informal workshop environments where students can tinker or invent, and with good reason. According to The NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2016 K-12 Edition, "Makerspaces are also increasing student exposure to STEM subjects and technical disciplines. Learners are applying maker skills to address some of the world's pressing challenges with innovative solutions." But how do makerspaces get started? THE Journal spoke with several experts, who shared their insights into the makerspace planning phase - not just designing or equipping the space itself but preparing the students and staff so that they're able to make the best possible use of it."

"A paper circuit is a low-voltage electrical circuit that is created on paper or cardboard using conductive copper tape, LEDs and a power source such as a coin-cell battery.  Creating paper circuits is a good way to teach the basics of electricity and how circuits function.   In addition to being educational, they can also be a fun makerspace project that helps to bring artwork and paper craft to life.  By adding sensors, buzzers and motors to your circuit, you can also add another dimension of interactivity.  These simple projects are great for all ages and all makerspaces."

"I recently began giving away a FREE Makerspace Planning Cheat Sheet on my Worlds of Making site.  One of the the steps on that Cheat Sheet suggests unpacking the standards and using them to inform your makerspace planning.  This includes the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which many states have adopted.  These standards offer a new vision on what teaching and learning should look like that speak directly to the K-12 Maker Movement. "

A makerspace is not solely a science lab, woodshop, computer lab or art room, but it may contain elements found in all of these familiar spaces. Therefore, it must be designed to accommodate a wide range of activities, tools and materials. Diversity and cross-pollination of activities are critical to the design, making and exploration process, and they are what set makerspaces and STEAM labs apart from single-use spaces. A possible range of activities might include: Cardboard construction Prototyping Woodworking Electronics Robotics Digital fabrication Building bicycles and kinetic machines Textiles and sewing

"This past year was swamped with curriculum design for four new Makerspace courses. Though there are many aspects in each of the courses that need to be tweaked, some of our projects were immediately and massively successful. For a GCAA Makerspace project to be successful, it should engage students while furthering their understanding of design thinking. In the spirit of my guiding star for 2015-2016 being #documentation, here are my top ten curricular wins from 2014-2015."

"With the National Week of Making behind us, you might be ready to start a makerspace in your school -- but not know where to start. Will purchasing a costly 3D printer and the latest robotics kit ensure learning and maker success? What are some steps to starting a successful makerspace from scratch?"

"On October 1st, 2015 the very first class entered our STEM lab/Makerspace and it was truly magical. The kids were engaged, they were learning, exploring and discovering the entire time they were in there. It was the moment we had worked so hard when we created this innovative learning space. It was a long journey that our little Makerspace/STEM lab team took to get there and we learned a lot along the way! The lab was originally Wendy Townlin's (@wtownlin) idea. She wanted to create a dedicated science lab for our school. It evolved into a STEM lab, then (with a little help from twitter) we decided to add in the element of a makerspace. With the support of our awesome principal Kris Martin-Meyer, four of us, Wendy, Amanda Young (@ajyoung53), Claire Simon (@MissSimon246) and I put our heads together, researched, reflected then began building. Here are some things we learned about along the way."

"We understand the worries and headaches that often go along with trying to design and create a makerspace. Just knowing where to begin can be overwhelming. In fact, we hear enough concern over how to create a makerspace that we host an entire workshop on the subject. So, what's the secret to a "correct" makerspace? (I'll answer that below), and how do you get started? Here's how our students did it."

"More and more libraries are being converted to makerspaces on a daily basis across the globe. I receive regular emails from people looking for the perfect checklist of hardware to create the perfect makerspace. However, makerspace isn't about stuff. Kinaesthetic activities, learning by doing, hands on, etc. all require teachers to shift their practice from comfortable to uncomfortable. Students will be working on different projects, at different paces, and at different times. Nothing about makerspace is standard nor can creativity be measured by a standardized test. In fact, measuring the success of a passion project is not possible with a rubric of qualifiers as rubrics themselves tend to be standard in structure."

"he Cardboard Challenge remains one of my all-time favorite makerspace activities.  I love how accessible it is to students.  How enthusiastic and creative they can be with such simple materials.  I'll never forget one of my favorite makerspace moments - my students at Stewart were Skyping with another school that was looking to start a makerspace.  They asked my students what their favorite thing in our makerspace was.  The answer could have been robots, or circuits, or a 3D printer.  But their answer was: "Cardboard!  We have so much cardboard!  It's awesome!"."