Middle Grade Monday – Maker Space

We are about to launch our Maker Space in our school library media center – it is going to be what is referred to as a ‘soft launch.’ Our technology facilitator and one of our classroom teachers are really the driving force behind this initiative, and much more familiar with the items we have purchased. While I’m more than happy to house the materials and provide space for them to be used, I know almost nothing about them. So, I’m hopeful that I will be able to form a team of interested students to help manage the project. Tomorrow after school we will have our ‘Maker Team Interest Meeting.’ From the students who show up, we’re planning on forming a team to rotate being on hand when the maker space is open. They’ll be in charge of answering questions, helping students figure out directions, and keeping everything orderly.  Wish us luck!

Last year we used some school funds we were given to promote STEM to purchase items for the maker space, which will be heavily STEM focused.  Over the summer during our reconfiguration, we chose a designated space for the materials, and repurposed some furniture for the area, which is just to the right of the entry/exit doors:

You may be able to tell that I figured out how to remove every other drawer in our old atlas case. This leaves enough space to store maker materials in some inexpensive bins I found at Wal-Mart. Here are some pictures of the items being stored there:

We also have and iPad to use with the Spheros, and one of these:

It is still in its box, and will probably remain so until tomorrow when we have our meeting – I plan on laying everything out around the library and letting the students that come explore and try to configure the materials (including constructing the 3D printer.) Stay tuned for regular updates on our progress.

Filed under: Middle Grade Monday