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"Tinkering activities provide a powerful way to inspire students' interest, engagement, and understanding in science. The Tinkering Fundamentals course will help educators and enthusiasts develop a practice of tinkering and making. This course will focus on key design elements of high-quality, science-rich tinkering activities, effective facilitation strategies and environmental organization. Watch Intro Video About the Course The Tinkering Fundamentals course will offer educators and enthusiasts an opportunity to develop a practice of tinkering and making.  We see tinkering as a serious endeavor -- one that is generalizable across content and especially good at interweaving disciplines in a way that leads to complex projects and individualized learning opportunities.   Tinkering has recently been introduced into the educational field as a potential driver of creativity, excitement, and innovation in science learning. It is seen by many as an effective means to engage in exploring STEM concepts, practices and phenomena. Tinkering typically blends the high and low tech tools of science along with a strong aesthetic dimension that supports children's (and adults) self expression.  For over a decade, the Exploratorium has been developing science-rich tinkering activities. Working with learning scientists, we have identified a set of design principles and indicators of learning that can help you to integrate tinkering activities into your elementary and middle school science programs. This course will focus on key design elements of high quality science-rich tinkering activities, facilitation strategies, and environmental organization. Selected  tinkering activities will be centered around circuits for this course.  We will review the ways in which tinkering supports science learning through providing opportunities to deepen engagement, intentionality, innovation, collaboration, and understanding. This course will excite you, inspire you, and get you tinkering in

"Some enthusiasts of digital media in learning and inclusion of making/tinkering as a learning activity - including myself - believe that talking about tinkering while doing it, in person and online, can enhance social contexts for peer learning and for learning thinking skills."

"The Maker Movement has inspired progressive educators to bring more hands-on learning and tinkering into classrooms, and educator Gary Stager would like to see formal schooling be influenced by the Maker Movement, which has inspired young learners to tinker, to learn by doing, and take agency for their learning."

"The first day of tinkering was just awesome. Within a matter of minutes, Kearn had the MaKey MaKey connected to Play Doh and was controlling a train simulator on the computer. Ludwig controlled the horn and Kearn drove the train. Kearn wanted to make a video to show what he had done, so we pulled out an iPad and made an impromptu video which he wanted to add to his Youtube channel. He also started following my blog and even left a comment about how much he loves the makerspace. Both students were completely independent and were perfectly capable of dreaming, tinkering, and making on their own. I was available for support as needed, but they really just wanted a space to explore. As they continue, I want to connect them with some experts that might mentor their ideas and curiosities, but for now, they just need to tinker. "

"As the economy's reliance on innovation grows, the offering of toys for girls remains somewhat less than innovative. Fortunately, a few women who are educators, engineers, and entrepreneurs are starting to figure this problem out, by reviving the time-honored principles of tinkering."

"Bronwyn Bevan (former Director of Research and Learning at the Exploratorium) just published an expanded literature review of the research on Making for the National Academies of Science committee on Out-of-School Time STEM. Though practice is still way ahead of research in Making and Tinkering, this new paper references 66 different studies, many of them are new ones published in the last 18 months. Recent publications document how STEM-Rich Making supports the development of STEM learning identities, deepens engagement with STEM concepts and practices, and leverages learners' cultural resources. The paper was published in the journal Studies in Science Education, and it might be of interest to anyone interested in the connections between research and practice in our making and tinkering programs. You can download it by clicking here."

"Teachers and librarians, like their students, need hands-on experience with tools and with playing to learn as that helps them build creative confidence. (https://www.edutopia.org/blog/crafting-professional-development-maker-educators-colleen-graves) Teachers, during PD, should be provided with time, resources, and materials with which to play. It sets the expectation that they will be active agents of their own learning. It gives them the message it is okay to play and experiment with the materials; that tinkering is often needed as a part of learning new skills."

"It was the summer of my disconnect… I've decided to try for a different focus this summer.  I want to spend a LOT less time online and tinker with technology that doesn't revolve around a 2D computer screen. Last year at this time, I was wrapping up my look at teaching computer programming to primary students.  I had just finished submitting in my Coetail Final Project and this was the subject-matter that I had chosen for my final project.  My investigation was done mainly through the 2D environment of the computer screen.    My own children and I spent last summer participating in two online "kids camp" programs that were an extension of my Coetail Final Project.  They were Scratch Programming and Minecraft.  We worked through several weeks of challenges, earned digital badges, and posted our creations online.  Some of them were featured in a weekly Show and Tell that was streamed over the internet by Pursuitery (has some connection with Connected Learning Alliance  and Mimi Ito of "Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out"). That was a huge amount of fun but it was all pixels."

"The Art of Tinkering looks at over 150 different artists and makers and how they weave science and technology into their work.  It's beautifully designed and inspiring.   It clearly demonstrates the important part that art, whimsy and creativity play in making.  Each chapter focuses on a different technique, from aerial photography to cardboard automata to wearable circuits to toy take apart.  The chapters each feature an artist or professional who uses that technique in their work, with an intimate look into their design processes, studios and tools.  The chapters then follow up with step-by-step instructions for a DIY activity, which are often excellent for maker stations.  I'm eager to try out the DIY wind tunnel and the marble run with my students."

"In the last few years, the "maker movement" has become a marvel in American schools through Maker Faires featuring homemade robots to after-school programs that teach kids to code - to entire schools geared around the art of tinkering. Maker-centered education, so the narrative often goes, could have profound benefits for students hoping to find work in a STEM-related job. Even President Obama has touted the economic benefits the maker movement could have on efforts to reinvigorate American manufacturing. But for teachers who use making in their classrooms, the movement is about something much bigger - something that enhances educational experiences for all kids. They argue this learning-by-doing approach is an effective way to teach students how to develop character and purpose."

"As an elementary school science teacher, I find this not easy to admit, but some of my students' most rewarding and meaningful classes over the years have happened when I have taken a back seat and let my students "tinker." Whether they want to dam up a stream during a water study, build nests with mud and sticks while investigating local bird populations, or, after completing a set of Lego models, independently design and build spinning Lego tops from which energetic battles ensue, students love having time to explore and investigate independently. This fall, for example, I let a third-grade class have a "free choice period." I gave them a list of things that they could do, such as making crystals, handling pet rocks or having a dance party. Instead, they came up with their own idea: they wanted to make boats. So, I gathered materials and allowed them to use handsaws and hot glue guns (which they'd already been taught how to use safely). Of course, many teachers allow and encourage students to engage in creative play: we know that young children need the chance to explore, daydream, imagine, play and build without an outcome or even a product in mind-a place free from failure, because failure is not even part of the equation. But this often takes place outside the classroom."

"The journey of building and maintaining a makerspace in our school is never-ending. Less than one year ago, we opened the doors of our Learning Lab Makerspace to our students, who have since experienced creating, tinkering and play. While still in its infancy, our Learning Lab has gone through a major transformation into the makerspace and yet has still continued to change based on our students' interests and needs. We have built the maker mindset from the ground up in our school, with teachers finding new ways to use the space to empower students to solve problems and with students finding their creative side as they tinker and explore. The space has grown in materials and ideas and even our parents are intrigued by what happens in there, bringing donations of supplies so that our students can continue to make. Even though our makerspace has seen its changes, there are materials that have become staples. Some of our must-haves are consumables, where students create ideas and projects in the art station. Other must-haves are not consumables, but are always in use. Here is our top ten list of elementary makerspace must-have materials."

"Toy take apart and hacking is a high engagement activity that works for kids of all ages, including adults who haven't lost their sense of kid, and both genders. I have done it multiple times during my summer maker camp for elementary level kids, my gifted students, and at conferences as part of teacher professional development. Here is a description of this activity from the tinkering studio at the Exploratorium: Do you ever wonder what's inside your toys? You'll make some exciting and surprising discoveries about their inner parts when you don some safety goggles and get started dissecting your old stuffed animal, remote controlled car, or singing Santa. Use screwdrivers, seam rippers, scissors, and saws to remove your toy's insides. Check out the mechanisms, circuit boards, computer chips, lights, and wires you find inside. Once you've fully dissected your toy, you can use the toy's parts, your tools, and your imagination to create a new original plaything.  (https://tinkering.exploratorium.edu/toy-take-apart)"

"As my first batch of masters courses come to a close, I was asked to reflect back on my experiences with the Maker movement. At first, I found it to be a bit out of my realm of comfort. I'm not one to sit and tinker with machinery and play video games. As I delved deeper, I found that making is not only about video games and tinkering with things, it's about creating and inventing. Creation can look many different ways, too. It can be using everyday household items to make a new game to play. It can be using a familiar presentation tool to create a project on a topic you've been dying to learn more about. Creating is the basis for the Maker movement, and it needs to become commonplace in the classroom."

"A lot of people limit themselves only to use things without wondering how they work internally or without having the ability to look inside and possibly make changes.This means that we renounce a better understanding of the objects that surround us and we become mere passive users of systems, mechanisms and technology. By cultivating the maker philosophy and promoting tinkering and coding, we can lay a solid foundation for those kids and young people who are intrigued by science, technology, art, engineering and maths. We can also involve more girls to encourage them to choose future career paths in scientific and  technological areas."

"You see it melting. Your shaky hands bringing it closer to the sweet spot. Slowly you touch it. You feel the rush through your body. Ecstasy. Pure bliss. Just like heroin through an addict's vein, electrons flow through the wires in the soldering gun in your hand. And BAM, the last wire in your DIY home automation project that you have been working on for the past three months is soldered in place. Making something on your own, using your hands, soldering wires in places is an experience like no other that leaves you craving for more. And it was never as easy as it is today. All thanks to the rise in the maker tech available in the market. It's not just the hardcore geeks and engineers who are tinkering with electronics and creating amazing things. The lines that divide the geekdom from the less tech-savvy population are blurring. The number of hobbyists, students and people in general who are tinkering and making stuff is on the rise."

"Today we're joined by TinkerLab reader and friend, Aricha Gilpatrick Drury who's offered to show us how to build with box rivets. Aricha is a mom to four children and has a knack for tinkering. When she shared this uber-tinkering activity on our Facebook wall, we asked Aricha if she'd be so kind to share with us today. Lucky us, she said, "yes!" If you've never built with box rivets before (we haven't), you're in for a treat. They're simple plastic connectors that enable you build almost anything you can think of from cardboard: castles, theater sets, play structures, and more."

"Another cardboard activity along the side of the Large scale & Small scale stop motion animations in the event of Infinite Versatility of Cardboard was Making Cardboard Costumes. This time, we set up our favorite "Tinkering photo frame" for people to capture their cardboard costumes, and to take this photo booth experience online, we also set up a hashtag #cardboardtinkering and used a social media wall "Walls.io" so that we could collect all the pictures with the hashtag and display them as a live-updating photo album on the large monitor during the event."