Coming to Life

We're only a few months in, but already we are seeing such exciting work coming out of the makerspace.  Many of the teachers have really embraced the Maker mindset and found ways to integrate "making" into their curriculum.  Students are enthusiastic and many beg for an opportunity to come in and do more in the space.  We have focused on team-based building challenges with our younger students, like Lego challenges, cup tower challenges and bridge design activities.  Our older students have had opportunities to create projects of their own design, following the "Genius Hour" model, and have applied what they've learned so far about coding to controlling their makerspace projects.  Check out the pictures below to see what our students have created:

Third graders making musical instruments

Third grader working on a sewing project

First grade cup tower challenge

Second grade Lego We-Do project

First grade bridge design challenge

Diving In

Once the school year started, we couldn't wait to get classes into the Makerspace.  The staff was excited, the parents were excited, and we wanted to keep that momentum going.  We decided that it would make sense to start with our oldest two grades (3rd and 4th) working in the makerspace.

For our fourth grade students, we wanted to do something that incorporated our 3D printer, since it was brand new for us and for them!  We found a unit called City X that mimicked a corporation called Made in Space, which designs objects meant to solve problems encountered by the residents on the International Space Station.  These designs are emailed into space and printed on a 3D printer on the Space Station.  For this City X activity, the students were each partnered up with a fictitious resident of a new space colony.  This resident had a problem and needed their designer to create something to help them solve their problem.

Here is a video about the project:


And here is the video about Made in Space that we used to help the students understand the purpose:



The focus of this project was on the design process - identifying the problem, brainstorming solutions, choosing one idea to use, and creating a plan.  Then they took this plan through a "draft" process - sketching version one, eliciting feedback, using that to design version two, eliciting further feedback, and coming up with a final design.  Then they created a model of that design using Model Magic, which they used to draw a blueprint using basic shapes.  This was necessary for them to be able to easily transfer their idea into Tinkercad, which uses basic shapes as the building blocks.  Once they created their designs in Tinkercad we were able to 3D print them.

Needless to say we learned SO much during this project!  I had to familiarize myself with Tinkercad, which was all new to me - I spent about a week learning the basics, hoping that would be enough.  Little did I realize, the kids would pick it up right away and figure things out in it without any trouble!!  We learned a lot about what worked and didn't work for 3D printing, and what to do to problem solve when we did run into design and printing problems.

Here are some examples of what our kids came up with in such a short time:

What a great kick-off to our first year in the Makerspace!

How Did You DO That?!

Let's be honest, our Makerspace is amazing.  We love it and while we know a Makerspace does not have to have stenciled gears on the floor, personalized wood tables, a Lego wall with custom Lego drawers, a full-length whiteboard or a wall of mirrors, we LOVE that our Makerspace does!  When we started on this journey, we had no idea where we were headed and it is still a work in progress but we are very happy with the space we have.

The concept of a Makerspace has been around for some time but we started to explore the possibility of having one at Summit during the 2013-2014 school year after our principal visited the Tinkering Lab at the Chicago Children's Museum.  She quickly formed a group comprised of the guidance counsellor (Ms. Jens), the art teacher (Mrs. LaGrange), the technology teacher (Mrs. Harrop), and the Library Media Specialist (Mrs. Voigt).  Together, we wrote a grant to our district's education foundation (Oconomowoc Public Education Foundation or OPEF).  We were awarded the grant in April of 2014 for $7,503.  Through the grant, we received a 3D printer (Makerbot Replicator 2) and four filament spools, three sewing machines, twelve Makey-Makey kits, six Arduino Inventor's kits, six Snap Circuit kits, six Drawdio kits, ten Little Bits kits and a mounted projector and screen.

Once we were awarded the grant, our space quickly began to evolve.  We knew we wanted to get laptops for our school and so the current computer lab that housed our desktops was the perfect space to transform.  We were so grateful for the equipment we received through the OPEF grant but we also knew we would need the "nuts and bolts" to make our space functional.  Mrs. LaGrange designed the tables and floors.  The tables were built by our school nurse's very talented husband.  We met with the Buildings and Grounds admin and the flooring company to pick colors for the stenciled gears Mrs. LaGrange created. Carpet was torn out, walls were painted, and hanging electrical outlets were added.  This was all done over the summer months.  Money for this came from our school's annual allotment for needed building/repair projects.  We also researched stools that would work well and those were ordered with building funds.

One component of the Makerspace that we (especially Ms. Jens) really wanted was the Lego wall.  We have seen increasing uses for Legos in education and we knew kids would really love this component of the space.  We received funds from the Imagine a Day Foundation for the Lego wall and additional Legos! Thank you!

We have had generous donations of consumable materials, such as fabric, thread, and cardboard.  We have spent quite a bit of our department budget on additional materials, such as tape, rubberbands, modeling clay, and pins.  We have found that each project requires a new set of materials and that is still something we are trying to keep on top of.  We truly want our students to drive the project and not the materials drive the project.

If you have any questions on the creation of our space, please comment!

Cardboard Challenge 2014

We introduced our Makerspace to staff by showing them the YouTube video sensation "Caine's Arcade."  I HIGHLY recommend watching it!

Launched from the overwhelming global response to the short film, “Caine’s Arcade,” the Imagination Foundation was founded to find, foster and fund creativity and entrepreneurship in children around the world to raise a new generation of innovators and problem solvers who have the tools they need to build the world they imagine.  (from the website)

Presented by the Imagination Foundation, the Global Cardboard Challenge is an annual event that celebrates child creativity and the role communities can play in fostering it.  From 9am-1pm on October 4th, we invited students and their families to come and build anything they could dream up using cardboard, recycled materials and their imagination.​  Mattress Firm, located in Pabst Farms, teamed up with us to donate cardboard and box cutters.  We had about 60 participants come throughout the morning and a variety of projects were created, from a balance board to a rocket ship to a life-size playhouse, and more!  Watch the video to see how much fun we had! We can't wait until next year!

What is a Makerspace?

At it's simplest, a Makerspace is a place where people can gather to create, invent, and learn.  A Makerspace can be anywhere!  A classroom, a basement, or a converted computer lab turned beautiful working space!

There are not set materials needed to have a Makerspace.  Materials available can be as common as cardboard and tape and as advanced as a 3D printer and soldering tools.  A Makerspace can be used to create 2D projects, 3D projects, projects that have a purpose or projects that do nothing but entertain.  A Makerspace has no limits, much like the children we work with every day!

So why a Makerspace? At Summit, we believe all children have natural capacities to create and make; they are born tinkerers.  Through creating and making, there is increasing evidence that students are more engaged and excited about learning.  When children are allowed to make personal, meaningful projects, they develop the habits of mind required to solve their own problems: a critical attribute of 21^st Century learners.  The Summit Makerspace creates opportunities for our students to spark interest in science, technology, engineering, the arts and math (STEAM).  Their applied and hands-on experiences will become a vehicle for them to develop greater confidence and higher academic achievement.  The Makerspace is a design environment that lets young learners practice age-appropriate computational thinking processes, including sorting, sequencing, retelling, arranging, decomposing parts of problems and collaboratively solving problems.  By linking the maker space with educational goals and learning outcomes, we differentiate our projects from other endeavors that focus on tinkering, do-it-yourself, and shop-like experiences.

If you are a Maker, then you have a Makerspace. It's as easy as that!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Summit Maker Space Blog!  So much time, energy, love, and dedication are going into the creation and development of our new Maker Space, and we wanted to document our experience.  From the beginning of the planning phase to its unveiling this fall to our school community, we have learned so much!  This is our opportunity to share our new knowledge with others looking to head the same direction.