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!