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Create a School Makerspace in 3 Simple Steps

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Create a School Makerspace in 3 Simple Steps

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As maker education gains steam, many educators are looking for ways to incorporate making and tinkering into their schools and classrooms - often on a shoestring budget.

"Kids are saying they want to learn more about technology and science, but they also want to experience it creatively and use it personally," said Dale Dougherty, founder of Make Media, which produces Maker Faire and Make Magazine.

"One of the ways we can do that is create more makerspaces for kids. Let's build more makerspaces inside schools, libraries and even community centers."

But what makes a makerspace? Dougherty and other maker movement advocates have identified three common elements of successful makerspaces:

They promote learning through play and experimentation.

They're cross-disciplinary, with elements of art, science and craftsmanship.

They offer tools and materials that encourage students to create rather than consume.

Makerspaces can be elaborate learning spaces equipped with sophisticated tools and supplies, but they don't have to be. Dougherty offered the following simple tips for creating one in your school.

Step 1: Secure some space.

It doesn't need to be fancy. It doesn't even need to be large. At the Ellis School in Pittsburgh, girls tinker at "Innovation Stations" that are tucked into hallways and the corners of classrooms, said technology director Lisa Abel-Palmieri.

Sometimes finding space is simply a matter of reprioritizing. For example, Shannon McClintock Miller, the teacher librarian at Van Meter Community School in Iowa, had an office in the corner of her library. She decided to convert it into a makerspace for students.

"It's not about our stuff," she said. "School is about the kids, and the kids are really grateful we made this for them."

That jibes with what Dougherty advises educators to do.

"I'm a big fan of making do. Just get something going and declare it," Dougherty said. "Usually there's some space already available. Maybe it used to be a shop class that was shut down. Let's reinvent it. It could be an art studio, a biology lab or a computer lab. It can be all of those things mashed together because we want to allow interdisciplinary exploration."

Step 2: Put stuff in it.

3D printers, Arduinos and agile furniture are great if you can afford them, but they don't necessarily define a makerspace. Instead, start with what you have and let it grow organically.

"You could throw in discarded materials from around your school and say, 'Kids, let's make something,' and they can have as good an experience as if you had $100,000 to build the space," Dougherty said. "Just get it started, and then reach out to engage your community. You'd be surprised. People have tools and materials they don't use and would love to donate.

"You can create a space for kids that becomes richer and richer over time."

Lissa Blake, a K-2 instructional technology integration coach in Clarendon Hills, Illinois, got creative with some unlikely materials. She used pizza boxes and a fistful of green straws from Starbucks to create a low-cost recording studio where her 6-year-old students could make their own videos.

Watch her ISTE19 TED Talk to learn how she did it:

Step 3: Invite kids to play.

Sure, you can develop a curriculum for your makerspace. Sometimes it's helpful to give students a starting point, especially if they're new to the concept of tinkering in school. But it's just as valuable, if not more so, to let them explore on their own, Dougherty said.

"I value space over curriculum here," he said. "I value opportunity over rigidity."

Once you've got a functioning makerspace, you can start looking at how to take it to the next level - for example, getting community support and helping students extend their projects into the digital realm where they can share and sustain them. But the important part is to just get started.
Nicole Krueger is a freelance writer and journalist with a passion for finding out what makes learners tick. This is an updated version of a post that originally published on June 21, 2014.

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Create a School Makerspace in 3 Simple Steps

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As maker education gains steam, many educators are looking for ways to incorporate making and tinkering into their schools and classrooms - often on a shoestring budget. "Kids are saying they want to learn more about technology and science, but they also want to experience it creatively and use it personally," said Dale Dougherty, founder of Make Media, which produces Maker Faire and Make Magazine.

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An approach to defining and designing the right space for your school.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Cooper

Makerspaces, STEAM labs, and fab labs are popping up in schools across the country. Makerspaces provide hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to design, experiment, build and invent as they deeply engage in science, engineering and tinkering.

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

Designing a space to accommodate such a wide range of activities is a challenging process. Educators and administrators can help guide the process and generate the space that works best by researching, brainstorming and clearly articulating their needs, while keeping in mind inevitable changes in the future.

Some schools have chosen to incorporate makerspaces within multiple classroom spaces. This works well for many activities, particularly in elementary schools. As maker activities expand to require more tools, it makes more sense to create a dedicated makerspace that includes appropriate tools, work areas and materials. The following design approach focuses on creating dedicated makerspaces and STEAM labs.

Ask the Right Questions

Because of the constantly evolving activities that a makerspace accommodates, a flexible design is critical from the outset. Therefore, the first moves should be the right moves to result in a space that's as usable as possible. Project leads must ask critical inquiring questions to guide and inform the design process.

What range of subjects will be taught in the space? What types of activities and projects could be done there? Determine the needs and desires of all teachers in the school who will or could possibly use the space. Imagine what projects they might initiate with their students. Ideally a science, math, technology and/or art teacher would lead or participate in the brainstorming. The Makerspace Playbook is a helpful guide to envisioning the projects and activities that could happen in the makerspace. The new book Invent to Learn is a great resource for making, tinkering and engineering project ideas. The main point here is to clarify the types of activities that the space would ideally accommodate.

Which tools are most needed? Will digital fabrication tools such as CNC routers, laser cutters or 3D printers be included? Which materials will be used? The Makerspace Playbook and Makerspace's Tools & Materials PDF document are both very useful tools for addressing these questions. They provide detailed lists of the diverse tools and materials that you might consider. Many types of equipment have special requirements, including ventilation and other elements to ensure a safe working environment. The list of tools and materials will naturally grow as specific projects and programs generate new needs, so it's good to allow for flexibility and expansion. Depending on the projects and activities, the space required for materials and project storage can be significant.

Who are the kids that will be using the space? Will others use the space as well? Who is staffing and managing the space? Having a space that is functional for a range of ages is key in school settings. Additionally, the space might be used for maker activities outside of class time, such as clubs (like Young Makers groups) or parent groups, as makerspaces grow into popular community hubs. At some point, the school may hire a part- or full-time makerspace teacher. In fact, some see this as critical from the outset.

When will the space be used? Students will use the space during the school day, perhaps in a dedicated class time or with their teacher. Other opportunities may arise to maximize utility of the space after school or evenings and weekends. In this case, the design would need to accommodate access outside of school hours and for multiple users.

Where in the school or on the campus would be ideal? What considerations are important? To accommodate the need for access to materials and tools, it's useful for the space to be easily accessible by cars and trucks, ideally during school day. A location close to or including outdoor work areas allows for larger or messier projects. Access to plumbing and electricity are critical. The space should be located where noise won't disturb classroom learning. Given the need for flexibility, it's good to find a place where the space could expand in the future. Finally, the makerspace would be centrally located so that it can be accessible to students, and visible so that work can be seen.

How will it be built? Is a new or separate structure needed, and if so what type? What is the budget? Will the design and construction team be a combination of contractor and volunteers, all-volunteer or fully contracted?

If you're lucky, there is a large space, classroom or portable just waiting for a new use, and building out the interior will be the main project. If space is at a premium, however, a new structure, portable or shipping container could potentially provide the space or some portion of it. Knowing your budget range will help determine the best way to proceed and whether you'll be able to employ contractors or need volunteers for some of the work.

Going Forward

Answering these questions will allow schools to create a design program for their makerspace, defining the specific needs and requirements. Because makerspaces and the activities they accommodate can vary so much, the design program is one of the most critical steps in ensuring the space will be functional and well used. The school could work with designers or architects to articulate the best ways of meeting those needs. Visits to other makerspaces or labs can be valuable and insightful during this phase, as educators envision what their space could be. A subsequent blog post will provide more information about design patterns typically found in makerspaces.

Resources

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An approach to defining and designing the right space for your school. Photo Credit: Jennifer Cooper Makerspaces, STEAM labs, and fab labs are popping up in schools across the country. Makerspaces provide hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to design, experiment, build and invent as they deeply engage in science, engineering and tinkering.

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Building A Tinkering Mindset In Young Students Through Making

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Building A Tinkering Mindset In Young Students Through Making

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Young kids who are playing don't worry about making mistakes. They're just playing, and the idea that they could make a mistake-that there's a wrong way to play-doesn't enter into their consciousness. It's this freedom that enables the creation of elaborate pretend games and castles built from playground bits. Replicating a sense of play in the classroom is vital to creating a tinkering mindset for children.

One of the most powerful things you can do to set the philosophical tone in your makerspace is to hammer home the idea that taking risks, trying new things, and making mistakes are not only acceptable actions-they're desirable actions. That's what you're hoping for! But telling a group of little kids that it's okay to make mistakes is not an effective way to deliver your message. The droning voice of the teachers in the Peanuts cartoons springs to mind! To get kids to internalize your message and truly take it to heart, you have to show them in a wide variety of ways what you really mean.

Here are some ideas for getting across the idea that taking risks, trying new things, and making mistakes are desirable outcomes.
READ STORIES ABOUT MISTAKES
There are lots of good children's books about mistake making. My absolute favorite is Barney Saltzberg's Beautiful Oops. This short book features mistakes repackaged as something awesome! For example, a torn piece of paper becomes the smile on an alligator. Young children respond to the simplicity of the "mistakes" and the delightful revelation of the reworked mistake into something beautiful and surprising. This book is a wonderful jumping-off point for a bigger discussion about how to handle mistakes and how mistakes can lead us in new, inspiring directions.

I read this story to each of my classes at the beginning of every year, and kids ask to hear it again and again. A few weeks after I read it to a kindergarten class one year, we were working on a challenge in which students were using graphic design tools to draw on a photograph of their faces. One student carefully tried to trace his eye so he could use the paint bucket to fill the shape. He hadn't quite managed to draw a closed shape around his eye, though, so the paint spilled all over the photograph completely covering his face. Watching from across the room, I braced myself. Sometimes students are distraught when things like this happen. Would there be tears?

This student straightened up in his chair and blurted out, "I made a beautiful oops! I know how to turn my whole page white!" The other kindergartners jumped out of their seats to come have a look at this marvelous discovery. They all wanted to know exactly how he did it so they could go try it out.

Of course, students do not always react to their mistakes this way. However, I have found that deliberately creating a climate where risk taking and mistake making are valued makes a notable difference in the way students handle mistakes.

Frequently reading stories about risk taking, failure, recovery from failure, and mistake making goes a long way toward assuring students that you actually believe in the learning that comes when students make and recover from errors. Check the list of excellent story ideas in chapter 8 for more suggestions.

ACTUALLY MAKE MISTAKES IN FRONT OF KIDS
Modeling that it really is okay to make mistakes is vital. Fortunately for most of us working in a budding makerspace with young tinkerers, there are many opportunities to publicly fail in front of students. There is so much to know and things change so quickly. Technology's unpredictability benefits us in this instance! When I'm teaching a lesson and my projector malfunctions, the demonstration program I wrote does not even begin to do what I had hoped it would, or my robot goes backward instead of forward, I take it as an opportunity to model resilience and grit. I let students see me flustered and then (hopefully) recovering. I invite them to help me diagnose what went wrong, which they LOVE.

Taking public risks and making public mistakes not only helps normalize mistake making, it inspires enthusiasm for collectively problem-solving and collaborating. All of this is a desirable part of the philosophical underpinnings of a tinkering mindset.

If you are the kind of educator who rarely makes a mistake, you can
strategically plan to make errors for students to catch. These preplanned mistakes can still help students see you as a real person who actually makes mistakes and recovers from them.
USE VISUAL REMINDERS
Posting quotations about or pictures of mistakes can go a long way toward reminding kids that you're serious about the value of mistakes. I have James Joyce's quote "Mistakes are the portals to discovery" displayed in huge letters on my classroom walls, and at the beginning of each year we have a discussion about exactly what the students think that quote means. At each workstation in my room I have a little sign stating, "Don't be afraid of making a mistake. Mistakes are normal and we learn from them."

At an art fair, I purchased a colorful print emblazoned with the phrase "Mistakes Make." It seems like the artist accidentally got the words in the wrong order. Kids think it's hilarious! I have a picture of my face posted in a prominent place in my classroom encircled by the words, "Ms. Baggett: Proud Mistake Maker Since 1966." I have a series of posters I made of silhouettes of heads with famous people's quotes about mistakes. The visual materials in my room affirm that I mean what I say about the value of making mistakes.

I start my year by having the kids do a scavenger hunt to become familiar with the room. One of the items they are supposed to search for is something that lets you know it's okay to make a mistake. One year, as the kids were searching for all the items, I heard one girl say, "There are so many things in this room that let you know it's okay to make a mistake, but I can't find the specific one for the stupid scavenger hunt!"
HIGHLIGHT BOTH EPIC FAILS AND SPECTACULAR DISCOVERIES
To further develop the idea that risk taking and mistake making can lead to something positive, I created an Epic Fails and Spectacular Discoveries bulletin board in my room. I wanted to create a place for students to share their highest highs and their lowest lows, the idea being that the more kids talk openly and honestly about their successes and failures, the more normalized the idea that we all have highs and lows when we're problem-solving becomes.

Students who want to participate can fill out a slip of paper (or ask me to fill it out if they're still learning to write) that asks
them what their epic fail or spectacular discovery was, how they happened upon it, and what about it made it an epic fail or spectacular discovery. Then they post their slips on a bulletin board so that other students can read them. Kids love reading what other kids have to say, and I often have to encourage them to go back to working on their projects instead of spending all their time reading the board.

One year after I finished introducing this idea to my students for the first time, a little hand shot up with a question. "But Ms. Baggett," the boy said, puzzled, "how do you tell the difference between an epic fail and a spectacular discovery?"

I adore this question! It gets at the fundamental nature of process -based, inquiry learning. Failure and discovery are so closely linked, so connected and interrelated, that it is very hard to distinguish between them, especially when failure leads directly to discovery and vice versa.

EMPHASIZE THAT A MISTAKE IS NOT THE END

I have all sorts of old projects lying around my room. Students love to look at them, but they also find them intimidating because most of the projects are physical objects in a final state. They look perfect and finished. Students have a hard time envisioning the steps that led up to the final object's creation: all they see is the incredibly cool final iteration.

To help students understand the messy process of creation, I ask students to track their progress during any project (much more about this in chapter 6). Tracking a project's progress helps illuminate the many mistakes along the way. Students looking at old projects can look up the reflection and documentation fellow students did on a given challenge to get a fuller picture of what happened along the way. It's fun to see how many challenges a student has to overcome to complete a project. Students have the chance to internalize the idea that continuing to work even when a seemingly insurmountable obstacle presents itself is vital to learning and growing.
TALK ABOUT THE PROCESS
Kids enjoy sharing what is happening with their work on a project, and it's great for other students to hear their peers talking about all the different challenges and successes they've experienced. Peer-to-peer sharing also opens the door for collaboration and collective problem-solving when a student is unsure of how to move past an obstacle.

I regularly invite students to teach their classmates. Students address their peers, explaining and demonstrating their mistakes
and discoveries. It is not unusual for them to have so much to say that I must gently help them wrap things up. Talking about the messy process of making is thrilling to students, who although they cannot always recognize why this appeals to them, appreciate the focus on their learning process instead of their final product.
Alice Baggett has been a teacher for over two decades. She holds a BA in archaeology from Oberlin College and an MA in education from Florida International University. This book is aimed at educators of primary school students who want to teach STEM and other subjects in a hands-on, minds-on way that engages and delights.

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Building A Tinkering Mindset In Young Students Through Making

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Young kids who are playing don't worry about making mistakes. They're just playing, and the idea that they could make a mistake-that there's a wrong way to play-doesn't enter into their consciousness. It's this freedom that enables the creation of elaborate pretend games and castles built from playground bits.

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In the last few years, Makerspaces have become a popular venue for people to explore and create. A Makerspace is a space with various tools and materials, with the purpose for individuals to tinker, explore, and create. In schools, Makerspaces have increased in popularity, housing a variety of materials from low-tech arts and crafts to high-tech software and electronics for students to experiment with and build their own designs.

Many conferences and workshops feature a Makerspace area, giving educators ideas to take back to their schools. Social media is filled with fantastic examples of Makerspaces, numerous websites and organizations are devoted to it, and books have been published on how to build your own Makerspace.

Why build a Makerspace in your school? Student creativity, building stronger neural pathways in the brain through kinesthetic learning opportunities, is the reason to build a Makerspace. It is about play, students tinkering to discover, children experimenting to learn, and students building what they dream.

Building a Makerspace is worth it when the students grow and learn within it.

In an age of accountability and standardization, these elements have been steadily removed from schools and classrooms. A Makerspace has the potential to put it all back in place. Even so, making a Makerspace come to life in a school is not an easy task. It takes vision, buy-in, materials and space, and a plan for implementation. More than that, building a Makerspace in a school takes time. And, we did it!

Building The Team

While I knew the potential of building a Makerspace in our school, I knew that I had to build a collective vision for one. I could not just find a space, order materials, and expect a Makerspace to happen. It was going to take a team to make this happen. Therefore, I created a team of teachers, bringing them together with the sole purpose to discover a new way to envision an open space we had in our building. It is with this team that we developed our vision and put all the plans into motion.

We began our work simply discussing the space we had in the building, our Learning Lab. We recently gutted our old computer lab, putting in flexible furniture for a variety of uses. In essence, I asked, "What would you like to see from this space?" From there, we began to dream together. I created a Google Classroom for us to share resources, websites, and articles about different ways schools have used their spaces. And then, our Makerspace began to form.

Promoting The Vision

A Makerspace is really cool, but why have one? Why put it together? The vision for the Makerspace must be clear, keeping students at the forefront, not the space or materials. While a Makerspace cannot function well without materials, that is not why this space is created.

The team determined we needed a clear vision that we could share with all teachers, students, and the community so that there was purpose behind what we were creating. During one of our meetings, we wrote down words and phrases, imagining what we wanted to create. Our vision was formed using the words we brainstormed:

The Learning Lab will present STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) opportunities for students to work collaboratively, experiment, tinker, and explore through the process of inquiry and problem-solving, while using their creative abilities to ask questions and develop their own solutions.

Gettin The Materials and Space

With our vision in place, we began to think about how to make it all happen. After face-to-face discussion and sharing through Google Classroom, we decided to create four main stations of materials to match our vision- the Arts Station, the Builders Station, the Games & Puzzles Station, and the Tech n' Engineering Exploration Station.

The team made lists of materials for each station, brainstorming different challenges and ideas that students may want to create. We looked at grants and other funding opportunities through the school district, ordering a few materials, shopping at the Dollar Store for others, and asking for donations from anyone. Together, we cleaned out cabinets and found most of the materials right in our classrooms already! They just needed to be discovered for use in different ways.

With the space fairly empty, we went to work, organizing the materials into tubs, rearranging furniture, making station signs, and creating "rules of engagement" procedures for use. The space was coming together very quickly, and we were peaking the interest of many as well!

Encouraging The Buy-In

The team had a vision for the space. Materials were now in the Learning Lab Makerspace. Now it was time to build buy-in. We planned a time for the staff to come to the Makerspace to play.

We flipped basic information for the staff, sending them a video a few days in advance, sharing what a Makerspace is, what stations ours will have, and what our next steps would be. During our staff collaboration meeting, we quickly introduced each station, showing a short video to spark interest, and then let the staff play, choosing where they would like to start, much like we would want for our students with choice and interest driving decisions.

During this play, there were pads of paper at each station, giving the staff the opportunity to write their thoughts, ideas, and concerns in an open forum. This feedback would be used to continue to develop the space, building opportunities for our students to use this space as much as possible while still following the curricular guidelines that have been set forth by our district curriculum. Even more than that, this time to play, share, and reflect builds the buy-in we want for our staff to use this space with their students, even taking the vision and concepts into their own classrooms.

Planning The Implementation

This is where we are right now. We are now ready to roll this out to our students, using the feedback from the staff so that we can ensure our students have opportunities to create, explore, and tinker in our new Makerspace. Our students are excited, their curiosity is at a fever-pitch, and they truly cannot wait to dig in.

Building a Makerspace is worth it when the students grow and learn within it. I cannot wait to see this space evolve with the students, changing as needed based on their interests. Furthermore, I am elated to know there will be amazing projects, collaborative learning, and fun happening here.
We did it! Let the fun begin! Feature image courtesy of Flickr, phil41dean.

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How We Built Our School Makerspace - Fractus Learning

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In the last few years, Makerspaces have become a popular venue for people to explore and create. A Makerspace is a space with various tools and materials, with the purpose for individuals to tinker, explore, and create. In schools, Makerspaces have increased in popularity, housing a variety of materials from...

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With the success of last year's post on the Top Ten Makerspace Favorites of 2015, we are excited to announce this year's list. We have spent the year scouring maker products to build this list. Prior to writing this post, we invited our PLN to contribute to a Padlet that highlighted some of their favorites. Based on the responses to that Padlet, we noticed an important shift in Maker Education. Once driven by STEM and makerspace in a box types of kits, we are seeing much more of an emphasis on open-ended exploration and stocking makerspaces with materials that foster that. We strongly believe that makerspaces should be unique learning environments that encourages tinkering, play, and open-ended exploration for all. Our list for 2016 reflects that same philosophy.

With so many amazing makerspace products now flooding the market, it was an incredibly difficult task to narrow our favorites down to just 10. All of the items on our list are aligned to the Worlds of Making 'MAKER' Framework, which serves as a guide for choosing the right products for your makerspace.

This list of ours includes our favorite items from this year, but it is still important that you use the Framework to uncover what materials, supplies and resources work best for your unique makerspaces. Although makerspaces are possible on any budget and amazing maker activities can be done with just cardboard or recyclable items, there is value to moving beyond just those things, as pointed out in this article by the great Sylvia Martinez. Our hope is that you get some ideas of products for your makerspace that can help you do this. So, without further ado, we present to you our Top Ten Makerspace Favorites of 2016!

Ok, so we realize this first one is a bit of a surprise because up until now, we have not supported makerspace in a box (or on a cart) types of kits. This one however, is special because it aligns perfectly to the 'MAKER' Framework in that it not only allows for mobility, but also in that it fosters open-ended exploration and has a low-barrier of entry. The cart comes with almost 15,000 different components that can support just about any maker project a child's imagination could dream up. With this cart, students will learn science and engineering concepts through experimentation, grow their understanding and evolve projects through the design & engineering process. For those who are looking for a less expensive option, the bulk components are available for individual purchase.

Sticklets offer opportunities for endless creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, play and fun! More and more we see makerspaces that are mobile. Children don't need to be tethered to a physical makerspace, and oftentimes we see the making spill outside. Sticklets are flexible, silicone connectors that allow for open-ended construction in a makerspace, in a classroom, hallway, gymnasium, or even outside! Sticklets can be the perfect solution for connecting your makerspace with nature. They are flexible, durable and water-resistant. There are no limits with how they can be used! Check out this (opens in new tab) video to see Stickets in action!

Our future architects and engineers will love Keva Planks! Because of their low-barrier of entry, students can get started making and creating right away! Don't be fooled by the simplicity of these stackable planks, the sky is the limit! Many makerspaces have Legos and Legos are great, but Keva Planks are in no way limited by step-by-step directions or plans, but instead encourage children (and adults!) to design and invent their own structures. Watch this video to see Keva Planks in action.

The concept behind Piper is simple: Build, Learn and Create. With Piper, kids can build a working computer using a real engineering blueprint, rather than through step-by-step directions. Throughout the process they can learn engineering, programming and design thinking through Piper as well as through advancing through a Minecraft story. Piper also allows children to create anything with their computer that you can with a regular computer. Watch this video to see Piper in action.

We strongly believe that students having a voice in planning and creating a makerspace is critical. This can be something as simple as asking students what they want to make. Very frequently we hear children saying that they want to make video games and many have dreams of becoming video game designers in the future. But many are stumped by how to get started or how to get there. Enter Bloxels. Bloxels is an easy to use, hands-on platform that allows ALL children to build, collaborate and tell stories through video game creation. With easy-to-use physical and digital tools, the imaginative gaming worlds of young gamers come to life in a cool retro arcade style. They decide what the game looks like and configure how it is played. They tell the story of the characters and design their looks. They create the obstacles and the power-ups. And then not only can they play, but they can then share your game with fellow gamers for both game play and content remixing. Be sure to check out the Bloxels YouTube channel.

Having a digital component to your makerspace allows for further mobility of your space by allowing making and creating to continue outside of just your makerspace and oftentimes even outside of the hours of the school day. Part puzzle game and part eccentric inventor's laboratory, Contraption Maker is a powerful & easy to use Maker Lab allows children to build whatever they can think of. It also fosters collaboration by allowing children to build together with friends online, and to share your creations with the world in our Workshop. The goal of contraption maker is to get kids designing, creating, tinkering, and pushing the limits of their imaginations. Want to see more? View the Contraption Maker trailer here.

Rigamajig is a large-scale building kit for children conceived for hands-on free play and learning. Play, even with our youngest learners today, is so often program-driven or teacher-driven. The free play that Rigamajig fosters is priceless and invaluable. KaBOOM! is the sole distributor of Rigamajig and is actually a non-profit organization. Money raised by Rigamajig purchases goes toward our mission of all ensuring all kids, especially those living in poverty in America, get the active play needed to thrive and grow into successful adults. Watch this video, to see Rigamajig in action.
8- Hearlihy Architecture/Engineering/Building Supplies- Hearlihy (Google+), @PitscoEd
This next pick isn't just one product, but a series of products. Many makerspaces are looking for ways to incorporate tools in a safe and economical way. These tools offered by Hearlihy offer that solution. The metal bars on the Lumberjack Cutter below, for example, block access to the blade to ensure safety during use. Students can use these tools to cut real wood and use that wood to assemble any structure they imagine. The tools and materials include:
Timber Cutter Lumberjack Cutter Nail Setter
mCookie 102 Basic Kit is a do it yourself, easily connectable, modular electronics kit which features Microduino's mCookie Series modules. Perfect for beginners and educators looking to learn or teach electronics and programming. Students can use the Arduino IDE Software to create their programs. For beginners to programming, coding can also be done with with Scratch and Mixly is a drag and drop programming alternative to text-based coding. Despite being a kit, which are oftentimes limiting in nature, this one allows for open-exploration and play, related to coding, programming, and electronics.

Strawbees is an award-winning prototyping toy for makers of all ages. It is a kit based on simple units called Strawbees that stimulate the imagination by letting you connect straws to each other to design, build and engineer designs. With Strawbees you can always modify things as you go, add straws, cut straws, or add new connections to get a sturdier, more flexible or bigger structure. Nothing is destroyed, only modified. They think playing and having fun is the best way to learn about the world. Strawbees also has a 'Become an Inventor' app, which along with the Strawbees kit, is a great tool to explore mechanics, engineering and design through play and to stimulate the imagination and inspire storytelling.

We are already on the lookout for our Top 10 Favorites for 2017! Submit your product or favorites all throughout 2017!
Cross posted at http://worlds-of-learning.com/ Laura Fleming has been a classroom teacher and media specialist in grades K-8 and currently is a Library Media Specialist for grades 9-12. She is a well known writer, speaker and consultant on next-generation teaching methods and tools, and the author of the best-selling Worlds of Learning: Best Practices for Establishing a Makerspace for Your School

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With the success of last year's post on the Top Ten Makerspace Favorites of 2015, we are excited to announce this year's list. We have spent the year scouring maker products to build this list. Prior to writing this post, we invited our PLN to contribute to a Padlet that highlighted some of their favorites.

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A Vertical Build – A Lego Wall Built For Our Makerspace

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A Vertical Build – A Lego Wall Built For Our Makerspace

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We built a Makerspace in our elementary school! And it has been such a transformative space for our students. I wrote a Fractus post on our journey earlier this year, and since then, the space has been buzzing with excitement.

Most days, the Makerspace is open in the morning as students arrive to school, and I simply monitor the making, creating, tinkering with the many materials and technology available during the time we have together. Teachers have been taking their classes into the space, not only for free exploration and making, but also for design challenges aligned to standards.

We held a Family Makerspace Night, bringing families into our Makerspace to see what the space is all about, making and creating together as a family.

After that evening, donations have come in from families and the community. Our Makerspace was featured in our local newspaper and presented to our school board, and we even built a Google site to share our story, highlighting student work. Someday we may get around to doing a screencast of the endeavor.

It has been a very successful few months for our Makerspace! And while change is not always easy, we have supported each other and our students through this new way of thinking about learning and making. We have begun to recognize the importance of students figuring out solutions on their own, not being fed content all day, but becoming a part of the content filling their minds.

We built a Makerspace in our elementary school. And it has been transformative!

Yet, the beauty of a Makerspace is that the space is never "done". This space should grow with our students, always pulling in new materials and technology so that our students can continually be pushed in their making abilities. The Learning Lab Makerspace team is continually finding ways to integrate the space into our daily instruction. Even more than that, we are always looking for new materials and technology for our students to explore.

So, in order to model the importance of continually changing and adapting to our students' needs, we began with a dream of mine - building a Lego wall.

Legos are a timeless classic for creativity, building, and fun. Kids of all ages enjoy this magnificent toy. For many, Legos come with a set of instructions and a product to build. Other times, kids have free reign on their creativity in order to build something new and different with their best Lego set.

In our school's Makerspace, Legos are a staple in our building station. Kids can create whatever they wish with Legos and even integrate those Legos with other materials for their project. With the inspiration of others online and on TV, we decided to put our Legos on the wall. Putting Legos on the wall not only is something new and different for our kids to experience, but it is also a space saver. Students can build on the wall, creating interesting artwork, simply creating anything new with Legos.

We made a HUGE Lego wall! And here is how we did it.

With the inspiration of Diana Redina's Renovated Learning site and amazing how-to blog post, we began with the vision of where to build our own Lego wall. First, we needed to measure how much space and how large we wanted to create our wall. Since we are an elementary school, I wanted to make sure even our youngest students could enjoy the full expanse of the wall. We kept the wall about a foot from the ground for our youngest students. Then, even our oldest students could enjoy all areas of the wall as well. Our wall is a little over 8 feet in length, and 5 feet in height. Our wall is wider, rather than taller, ensuring many students could be working at the wall at one particular time.

Once we had the concept of where we would build our Lego wall and how large we were going to make it, we had to order our materials.

How We Built Our Lego Wall

Our materials are:

Instructions For Building The Wall O'Legos

With my vision and the handyman skills of our maintenance director, we used the half-inch floor grade plywood and bolted it to the wall, of course making sure it was level. Beginning with our first sheet of wood, we placed the Lego plates on the board with either liquid nails or a strong construction adhesive. A small gap in between each Lego plate was needed in order to ensure Legos would connect between the plates. So, as plates were placed on the wall, the classic Lego pieces were used to make sure spacing was just right.

Once the first sheet of wood was nearly full, we measured and cut another sheet of wood, filling in the rest of the space according to the number of Lego plates we planned to use. After bolting those additional pieces to the wall, the rest of the Lego plates were put into place, again using the Lego pieces to ensure proper spacing in between each plate.

Once all the plates were in place, a small wood trim was nailed around the board to frame the Lego wall, finishing the wall nicely. After about 24 to 36 hours of drying the Lego wall was ready to use.

And it is just that simple.

The students' first encounter with the Lego wall has been interesting to watch, as many of them did not know what to start creating as their minds were swirling around the concept of building vertically. However, with a few days under our belt, more ideas have been discussed, starting the creation of pictures and words.

Our Makerspace will continue to evolve with our students. It is an exciting adventure to see it unfold!
Feature image courtesy of Flickr, qrevolution.

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A Vertical Build - A Lego Wall Built For Our Makerspace - Fractus Learning

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We built a Makerspace in our elementary school! And it has been such a transformative space for our students. I wrote a Fractus post on our journey earlier this year, and since then, the space has been buzzing with excitement.

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How to Start a Makerspace When You’re Broke

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How to Start a Makerspace When You’re Broke

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You CAN start a makerspace even if you're broke

In my recent post on AASL Knowledge Quest, I decided to revisit and revamp a popular article that I wrote for the ISTE Librarians Network Scanner about starting a makerspace on a budget. Since writing that article in November 2014, I've talked to many more educators and continued to work on adding to and improving our makerspace. I felt like it was a good time to take a look at the issue again, as I'm still hearing people saying that they can't start a makerspace because they don't have a budget for one. Seriously, I'm hearing this everyday. I know that for many of us, our budgets are non-existent, and our teacher salaries leave us broke. But even if your budget is zero dollars, you can absolutely still start a makerspace.

Check out the sneak peek below, then click over to Knowledge Quest to read the whole article.

What many people don't realize is that the idea that you need a lot of money to start a Makerspace is a myth. All you need is to have vision, ingenuity, and resourcefulness. A lack of funds is no excuse for keeping your students from experiencing the empowerment that comes with bringing the Maker Education Movement into your program. It may take more effort and elbow grease, but you can start a makerspace even with a zero balance in your budget.

The idea that you need a lot of money to start a #Makerspace is a myth Click To Tweet

Go check out the article over on Knowledge Quest, and learn some valuable strategies for starting (and growing) your makerspace no matter where your budget is at.

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How to Start a Makerspace When You're Broke - Renovated Learning

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You CAN start a makerspace even if you're broke In my recent post on AASL Knowledge Quest, I decided to revisit and revamp a popular article that I wrote for the ISTE Librarians Network Scanner about starting a makerspace on a budget. Since writing that article in November 2014, I've talked to many more educators and ...

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I've shared lots of small details of our makerspace so far in our first year, including examples of World Language projects, examples of primary grades projects, space design details that have proven important and surprising and unexpected needs. I've even shared lots of details about other makerspaces I've visited.
But I've never shared what our makerspace looks like in its entirety. So here we go!
We have three rooms (although two of the rooms are separated by a divider wall that is almost never closed): the woodworking room and then the large combined digital and main rooms. The floor plan below shows the layout, including the views of the panorama photos further down in this post. For example, in the purple spot labeled "Photo #1," I took that photo standing at the corner of the arc, and the panorama spans the full arc.

Photo 1. This picture starts in the digital room. Most students enter the door in the far north wall, at the edge of the digital space and just out of sight to the left in this picture. You can see out the windows into our school courtyard to the left, and the greenscreen corner on the right. The white door on the left side leads into our tiny DIY soundbooth-plywood, carpet and audio foam.
At first, several of our students (apparently having never seen an actual computer tower before) thought that each computer in the digital space had its own 3D printer. Others were confused why the computer didn't turn on when they pressed the monitor button. Nope, those colorful towers are the actual computers.
Looking past the carpet into the far room, you can see the main room where most of our tinkering and testing takes place.

Photo 2. The next picture starts about halfway through our digital room, past the computers and near our teacher workspace. Those shelves on the left house some mostly "teacher use" tools like a button maker and our ancient Accucut. Above those shelves hangs awesome artwork created by an eighth grader during Adventure Days and our to-do grid, where we post and organize all our tasks that need to get done.
The shelves on the right are my colleague's and my personal shelves, as well as where we keep things like digital cameras and rechargeable batteries. (See photo inset in lower right-hand corner above for an example of why we keep rechargeable batteries secure.)
The table in the center is the "finished lasercuts and 3D prints awaiting pickup" table. We're working on developing a better system for returning such projects to students in an organized way.

Photo 3. I took the third picture standing between the two rooms. There are a few seventh and eighth graders at work on various projects in the main room, my colleague working on some BreakoutEDU boxes at our teacher workspace and two seventh graders on the far right filming a greenscreen video.
Right in the middle is the folded-up divider wall that we can use to separate those two rooms if needed.

Photo 4. This is now solidly inside our main room with its vinyl floor, ceiling-mounted electrical outlets, rolling tables designed and built by a teacher colleague and the glorious Wall Of Joy (more details about this in Photo 5). This picture was taken the day prior to Photo 3, but similarly shows one of our oldest students at work on an open-ended project where students could decide whether and how to use our makerspace to move toward their learning goals.
The far right leads back into the digital room, and the far left leads into the separate woodworking room. Along the wall into the woodworking room are our wall file for cereal-box cardboard, 3D printers, time timer, soldering stations and a few other tools. Under the windows on the right is our projects-in-progress storage space.

Photo 5. More about the Wall Of Joy shown above. We recently reorganized and color-coded the Wall Of Joy. When students were looking for or putting away items, we used to need to say things like "the scissors belong over there on the left, near the sewing machine. No, not that far. Down a little bit." Now, we can simply say "yellow section!" Even only a few days into this reorganization, searching is easier. There's also now no question of which items students may not access without asking.
We use a combination of standard organizational systems (i.e., bins and shelving, louvered panels and hooks) and hacks like the drying rack we use to store alligator clips and the shoe rack we use to put away hot glue guns without needing to let them cool first. The "cardboard specialties" section includes things like pre-laser cut cardboard shapes and gears and 3D-printed cardboard rivets.
On the far right in this image, you can also see our clean-up nook. We've found velcro tape exceptionally handy! Our upright brooms, hand brooms, hand vacuum and magnetic sweeper are all mounted on the wall.

Photo 6. Finally, this is our woodworking room at the far south end of the makerspace (yes, I tidied it up a bit for the picture!). Here we have our laser cutter on the far left, and then our woodworking equipment. Our drill press gets the most use by children, and our miter saw gets the most use by adults.
The furniture was all made in-house. One of our wonderful facilities colleagues designed the A-frame materials rack near the laser cutter and the two work tables in the center (that I helped build during two exhausting days last fall). Those work tables also serve as materials racks for non-cardboard laser cutting materials like craft plywood, acrylic and resin sheets.
The same colleague also designed the miter saw table under the windows and middle school students helped build it during Adventure Days last year.

Photos 7-10. The following pictures were all taken from the same location to highlight the flexibility of our space. Since our tables roll as well as nest together tightly in the corner, we can use them differently depending on the project and the developmental needs of the students doing the project.

Photo 7. With our youngest pre-kindergarteners, I limit the scope of materials and set up "materials tables" that they can access freely. I also like to bring over the seating cubes from the digital space for the tiny kids to use as work tables.
In the picture above, you can see the two materials tables near the Wall Of Joy, and then the seating cubes in the foreground, with a pre-kindergarten class hard at work on their bat ears.

Photo 8. The image above shows a first-grade class-students who are a little older, a little taller and have better fine-motor skills than those in Photo 7. I also generally limit the scope of their materials and tools with "materials tables," but with a wider variety of options. This class is building board games to practice their French vocabulary - a project we expected to require constant return trips to the materials tables to try new things.
With lots of moving around expected, we did not set out the rolling stools for this class. The image on the left is the same view as the others in this part of the series. The image on a right is just a little bonus. The next day, we set up two extra game-play tables for kiddos who finished.

Photo 9. This third-grade Spanish class is decorating their Dia de los Muertos skulls with felt-tipped markers and Model Magic accents they created on a previous visit. Because this is a project that definitely would not require kids to be moving around a lot, we brought out the rolling stools. So far, I start letting kids make their own choices about rolling stools in about fourth or fifth grade, depending on the situation.

Photo 10. This final picture shows the entire fifth-grade class-all 50 of them! They've been studying water quality and the impact of road runoff on our local streams, and they came into our makerspace to build, test and iterate upon their filter designs.
With so many students, we set up only a few tables for their main materials and one table for a group that needed electricity since a hot-plate was part of their design. The rest of the students took sheets of cardboard to use as drop cloths and worked on the floor. In fifth grade, students can access materials and tools on the wall independently.

Our whole school community is pretty proud of how our space has turned out, after years of preparation, construction and now iteration as we continue to learn. We know we have lots of improvements to make-our homemade tables have some major tweaks needed, and our processes for students submitting files for laser cutting or 3D printing could be streamlined.
Our makerspace and its integration into the life of our school is an excellent example to our students of a project under constant iteration and improvement, just like the learning experiences we drive them towards.
For more, see:
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I've shared lots of small details of our makerspace so far in our first year, including examples of World Language projects, examples of primary grades projects, space design details that have proven important and surprising and unexpected needs. I've even shared lots of details about other makerspaces I've visited.

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Starting a School Makerspace from Scratch

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Starting a School Makerspace from Scratch

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Step 2: Get Others Involved

Start a steering committee for your makerspace by involving interested teachers and students. Include your committee in purchasing decisions, goal setting, workshop ideas, and even leading makerspace programming. Learn from other schools and students about what they do by reaching out with Skype or Google Hangouts.

If you can, reach out to the community and get parents and community members involved. You'll also engage students if you enlist mentor experts. Start by finding student experts in your school and around your community. Utilize Twitter or Skype in the Classroom to branch out. Our students love connecting with other maker students around the country, as well as maker experts like the inventors of Makey Makey.

Step 3: Purchasing Makerspace Resources

Here are three guidelines:

1. What purchases will give you the most bang for your buck? Will buying a 3D printer break your budget?

2. Write grants, ask your PTA for funds, or use crowdsource funding like Donors Choose or GoFundMe. You can sign up for monthly emails about grant opportunities from Mackin.

3. Ask for old electronics, popsicle sticks, balloons, old car toys, old electronic toys, wire cutters, old telephone wire, old tennis balls, etc. You'll find lots of great STEM lessons at past Google Maker Camps. Follow STEM accounts and other makerspaces on Instagram, and scour Pinterest for cheap ideas.

Step 4: Building a Community of Makers

Immerse your students in maker supplies. Just as surrounding kids with books motivates them to read, surrounding them with tinkering tools motivates them to create. You don't need a special room for your makerspace. All you need are maker resources, somewhere to store items, and a beginner's knowledge of how to use your resources.

Once I moved our makerspace materials from the back room into an easily accessible area behind our circulation desk and instituted a project shelf, our students started tinkering every day!

Step 5: Hosting Workshops and/or Design Challenges

One of the most important aspects of starting a makerspace is getting the pulse of your community. I have an "iWanna" box on the circulation desk, and the first successful design challenge at Lamar was born from a student idea that ended up there. That student wanted to create catapults, so we ended up throwing down a Catapult Challenge to Diana Rendina's class in Florida, and they in turn challenged us to create games in Scratch and invent controllers with Makey Makey.

Students also love tinkering with Snap Circuits, littleBits, Knex, Lego, Makey Makey, Sphero, and Scratch during our maker mornings (see a resource list here) -- although just owning all of these resources is not going to ensure that making leads to learning. Let kids tinker and play, but eventually, you'll have to guide their learning by creating design challenges.

Design challenges teach problem solving and creative thinking, and they're one of the easiest ways to create a community of makers. Makey Makey co-inventor Jay Silver declares, "Design challenges are so important. . . it introduces time limits, a focused theme, and ends with a show and tell." You can show off student creations by hosting a mini-maker faire, connecting your makers with other students via Skype and Twitter chats, or showcase projects on other social media.

Here are some design challenge ideas that worked for me:

Step 6: Integrating Maker Education Into the Curriculum

While tinkering can lead to learning, remember that makerspace programming can also support classroom curriculum. Here are some ideas for incorporating making in the classroom:

What are some goals that you'd like to set for your school makerspace? Have you incorporated any great makerspace lessons in classrooms at your school? Please share in the comments section of this post.

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Starting a School Makerspace from Scratch

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Start a steering committee for your makerspace by involving interested teachers and students. Include your committee in purchasing decisions, goal setting, workshop ideas, and even leading makerspace programming. Learn from other schools and students about what they do by reaching out with Skype or Google Hangouts.

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MAKERSPACE YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY | ACTION PLAN

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MAKERSPACE YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY | ACTION PLAN

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Mecabricks is the first web service to publish and display 3D models made with LEGO® bricks. No need to install any plugin, it simply works.

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Roomstyler - Design, Style and Remodel Your Home

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Sign up for a free Roomstyler account and start decorating with the 120.000+ items. Anyone can create photorealistic 3D renders of the interiors they have designed.

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Fast drawing for everyone. AutoDraw pairs machine learning with drawings from talented artists to help you draw stuff fast.

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Pixilart, free online pixel drawing tool - This drawing tool allows you to make pixel art, game sprites and animated GIFs online for free.

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Triskele Paper Globes | Stunning handmade 3D Ornaments

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Triskele Paper Globes | Stunning handmade 3D Ornaments

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If you are looking for a Paper Craft with the wow factor then you have come to the right place: Triskele Paper Globes are in my absolute Top 5 list of Paper Craft Projects! And *wink soon to be in yours, too!

So what are Triskele Paper Globes?

Plain and simple: they are stunning and look fabulous. With its beautiful shape and elegant design, Triskele Paper Globes appear to be really tricky to make. But let me tell you: they are not!

This paper-folding design consists of three strips of paper that when interlocked turn into a 3D paper ball shape. Of course, I will show you how to make them! Here is a little introductory video for you to enjoy...
(This video is a little introduction, only. I have created many video tutorials that show you in normal speed and step by step how to make them. You can find these with the individual Triskele Paper Globe Bundles.)
NEW this month...
NEW: Easter, Spring & Summer Triskele Paper Globe Bundle
I first came across this design when I stumbled upon Mariët's blog post in which she decorates such paper ball with Zentangle patterns. I was intrigued by the 3D paper ball shape and knew I had to give it a try. I fell in love and started decorating the first few and knew many of you would love to color and craft these just as much as me. Today, you can choose from many Triskele Paper Globe Bundles. Find your favorite bundle(s) further below.

The naming of Triskele Paper Globes?

I started searching the internet for more information and in particular looked for a name for these beauties but came up with nada (nothing). I was surprised. I felt though such gorgeous shape and elegant design deserved a better name than just 'Paper Ball, Ornament or Bauble'. So I shared my find with the Hattifant Facebook community and asked them for help. There was much excitement. And TRISKELE PAPER GLOBES sounded perfect to many!

Throughout the years I also discovered them under the name of 'Click Balls or Ornaments' and 'Plop Plop Balls'.

But 'Triskele' means what exactly?!

A triskele describes a triple spiral motif: three symmetrical swirls emanate from a single point. The name itself comes from the Greek words 'tri' and 'skelos' meaning 'three legs'.

The designs' origin dates back far into history and has been found across the globe with the oldest in Malta (4400-3600 BC) but also carved in stones for example at New Grange, Ireland, ancient Greece, Italy, Korea, and Japan. In fact, it is believed to be among the oldest spiritual symbols created by humans altogether.

'3' being a sacred number in Celtic belief, it doesn't surprise that the 'triskele' has been and still is of high importance in Celtic culture. The symbol has a variety of meanings: past, present and future; life, death and rebirth; earth, water and sky; creation, protection and destruction to name a few.

If you would like to learn more about 'triskeles' then I found this article most interesting.

For Math enthusiasts:

For those interested in exploring 'Triskeles' mathematically, I encourage you to read what 'Loop Space' has to say about 'Triskele Curves'. I would like to thank Paula Beardell Krieg for having initialized this direction of conversation.

I hope you enjoyed finding out more about Triskele Paper Globes. Read on to learn how to make your own in a Video Tutorial I created for you. Further below you will find a list of all currently available Triskele Paper Globe Bundles. Follow the individual links to learn more about your favorite Triskele Paper Globe Bundle.

HOW TO make your own:

For the Triskele Paper Globe Craft you will need:

template

paper (120-150gsm/32-40lb)

scoring tool & safety mat

scissors

double sided tape and glue

coloring pens

Enjoy the video and give it a like on YouTube as well. Have subscribed to my YouTube Channel, yet?! :)))

As you can see in the video, the globe looks really tricky to make but as soon as you know how it's done it is a pretty straight forward craft. Now, I know you will want to try it yourself! I have prepared a free blank template for you that you can download in the next section where I introduce all Triskele Paper Globe Bundles to you!

Hattifant's Triskele Paper Globe Bundles

There are quite a few Triskele Paper Globe Bundles available for you. Have fun exploring. I am also working on colored versions of these. Please come back again in the near future for those.

FREEBIE Triskele Paper Globe Template

Enjoy this complimentary Triskele Paper Globe template and see if this 3D Paper Craft is for you. 🙂 Click on the image above or here to download the template! Happy crafting!

NEW in 2023: Easter, Spring & Summer Triskele Paper Globe Bundle

This brand new bundle here is fabulous. It took me years to complete and I am sure you will understand why when having a closer look. There are 12 unique globes plus one very special one: this globe carries all 12 designs! Find out more here!

ORIGINAL Triskele Paper Globe Bundle

In this bundle you will find 10 unique designs exploring various topics from flowers to fish, Mandalas, hearts and patterns for you to color and craft. I recommend the ORIGINAL Triskele Paper Globe Bundle to everyone as the perfect introduction to Triskele Paper Globes.

HOLIDAY themed Triskele Paper Globes

Here is a collection of available Holiday related Triskele Paper Globe Bundles for you to choose from!

SEASONS themed Triskele Paper Globes

There are currently two Spring inspired Triskele Paper Globe Bundles available to color and craft.

SPECIAL OCCASION themed Triskele Paper Globe Bundles

We start off this category with some cute Birthday Party Invitations.

Triskele Paper Globes PAPER CUTS

Triskele Paper Globe PUPPETS

I also have some fun Triskele Paper Globe creations for our little ones: Triskele Paper Globe Puppets!

I hope you enjoyed this excursion into Triskele Paper Globe Wonderland! 🙂 I will of course create more bundles for this superduper awesome 3D Paper Craft! So come back soon to find something new.

And if you have read up to here and are still looking for the FREEBIE Triskele Paper Globe and Tutorial then please visit here!

What do others say about Triskele Paper Globes:

Below find a selection of reviews made by happy crafters on Etsy...

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Triskele Paper Globes | Stunning handmade 3D Ornaments - Hattifant

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A fabulous 3D Paper Craft with stunning results: Hattifant's Triskele Paper Globes. Enjoy lots of coloring. With templates and instructions.

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Scratch is a free programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations.

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Learn computer science. Change the world.

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Every student in every school deserves the opportunity to study computer science.

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How do I start my child coding?

Coding, otherwise known as programming, is a creative activity for all children. Your child might not care about writing data processing algorithms, but they might enjoy creating games, programming music, designing websites, or just playing with code. Learning to code is for everyone; you don't have to be good at math or a "techie" to learn how to code. Kids as young as five can learn to code and pick it up faster than most adults.

When your kids are starting, pick a program like MIT's Scratch or Tynker Junior app. The visual style of these programs makes it easy for young children to learn to code. Scratch and Tynker have a graphical interface that works. Drag-and-drop code blocks snap together. Pieces of code that don\'t make computational sense won't fit together, making syntax errors impossible.

Older children can learn to code with Python by building games, art, music, and more. Some programs like Tynker offer a placement test to set your child on the right track for their age and experience level.

What age is best to introduce coding to kids?

Every child learns at their own pace. They can learn different subjects at varying rates and ways. Experts believe that children should learn coding at an early age. According to MIT, the best age for kids to start learning coding languages such as Scratch Jr or Tynker Jr is from 5 to 7. Many programs allow your children to progress at their own pace or hire an instructor to help them move along.

With Tynker, a placement test will place your child on the correct path based on age and skill level, and Tynker supports children up to age 18 with real-world text languages like Python and JavaScript. Children progress to more difficult coding courses with the support of interactive tutorials and video instructions at their own pace.

Which is the best coding for kids program?

With so many great services available, learning to code has never been easier! For example, Scratch and Tynker provide innovative visual coding languages that make coding fun. Coding is a great way to broaden your child's worldview and develop their creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Here are a few coding for kids options to review:

Game-based learning -Game-based platforms such as Tynker and the challenges on Code.org motivate kids to use code to complete game levels.

Independent learning with Scratch -Scratch from MIT is a great way of getting started with code. Although they don't have courses, there's a vibrant community to learn from.

Online courses-Enroll in a Python or JavaScript course on Codecademy or Tynker or learn to code with Processing on Khan Academy. Tynker offers advanced courses like Processing 1, using p5.js to introduce the foundational concepts of art and computer science.

Build an app-Learn to build your own iOS app using Swift. Install the Swift Playgrounds app by Apple.

Use a book-Learn by following along with books like Mission Python, Super Scratch Programming Adventure, or Coding with Minecraft. Tynker has a series of super-informative coding activity books, including Code These Games, Code These Minecraft Mods, and Code This Art.

Why is coding needed?

Coding is the method of giving a computer instructions to perform a specific task. You may also hear coding referred to as software programming or computer programming. These instructions are communicated using a language that computers can understand, like visual blocks, JavaScript and Python.

Coding for kids lays the groundwork for our world's technology, from microprocessors in everyday items like refrigerators and water heaters to sophisticated programs that run our cars and buildings. Learning to code is a great opportunity for children of all ages to develop their problem-solving and critical thinking skills, while building the necessary focus and organization to see projects through to completion.

Coding usually begins with drag-and-drop visual programming in which children connect blocks together to make programs. Visual programming teaches the fundamental concepts without typing or syntax by placing the focus on the logic behind the code. Once they've learned the basics, children can transition to real-world programming languages like Python, JavaScript, and C.

From online coding courses and games to offline learning, from in-person coding instruction to live online tutoring, there are endless coding resources available. The best coding platforms and programs like Scratch, Code.org and Tynker give children of all ages and experience levels the ability to code while making the process fun and engaging.

Why should we use Tynker coding for kids?

Tynker is the world's number one coding platform for children ages 5 to 18 for a reason-it works! Tynker powers the creativity of over 100 million students and serves thousands of schools and educators worldwide.

Tynker's award-winning, gamified courses and coding for kids activities encourage kids to complete projects as they have fun, allowing them to progress from novices to experts using languages like Python. Tynker's interactive lessons have built-in tutorials for all ages and skill levels. Our highly-rated mobile app (4.7 stars) lets students take Tynker on the go. Learning how to code with Tynker unlocks and empowers children's creativity, teaching them life-long skills they can use today and into the future.

How do I teach my 7 year old code?

Learning to code is for everyone; you don't have to be good at math or a "techie" to learn how to code. Kids as young as five can learn to code and pick it up faster than most adults. Tynker Junior is a fun, interactive way to spark your kid's interest in coding. Kids (ages 5-7) learn coding basics by connecting picture blocks to move their characters. Tynker's immersive game-like coding courses and interactive lessons with built-in tutorials are perfect for beginners 5+ through experts 18+.

What options are there for coding for teens?

Code.org has a year-long course in Computer Science Principles that introduces students to the foundational concepts of computer science and challenges them to explore how computing and technology can impact the world.

Tynker has coding for kids courses that align with subject standards like CCSS-ELA, CCSS-Math, NGSS and CS standards such as CSTA, ISTE, CA CS, UK National Curriculum, and several state-level standards like TEKS.

Tynker is recognized by College Board as an endorsed curriculum provider for AP Computer Science Principles and AP Computer Science A.

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Coding For Kids, Kids Online Coding Classes & Games | Tynker

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Tynker makes it fun and easy to learn computer programming. Get started today with Tynker's easy-to-learn, visual programming course designed for young learners in 4th through 8th grades.

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Teaching computer science

Whether at home or in the classroom, MakeCode provides captivating experiences for students to learn computing concepts at their own pace through personally meaningful projects.

Explore some of the lessons, tutorials and curriculum available with MakeCode.

Learn more

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Microsoft MakeCode Computer Science Education

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MakeCode brings computer science to life for all students with fun projects, immediate results, and both block and text editors for learners at different levels.

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Lesson resources for teachers

Planning and teaching with the micro:bit

Primary ages 7-11

Complete, editable computing units of work and resources with cross-curricular links for art, science, geography and more, curriculum-linked to England KS2 and Code.org elementary CS Fundamentals.
Search primary lessons
Secondary ages 11-14

Units of work with downloadable, editable resources covering computing fundamentals through to cyber security, cryptography and creative design projects, curriculum-linked to England KS3.
Search secondary lessons

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The BBC micro:bit: the pocket-sized computer transforming digital skills learning.

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How to turn on JavaScript

Makey Makey resources for Australian teachers

Microsoft Sway

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Makey Makey resources for Australian teachers

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Makey Makey: An Invention Kit for Everyone, is an electronic invention tool and toy that allows users to connect everyday objects to computer programs. Using a circuit board, alligator clips, and a US

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Explore, play and learn with Santa's elves all December long

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Join Moana and Maui in an adventure game while learning all about loops, conditionals and the fundamentals of code. It is your Hour of Code!

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Write & Code Interactive Stories for Free

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Elementari is an online platform to write, code, and share interactive stories using professional illustrations and sounds. Get started for free.

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Coding and Robotics in the General Ed Classroom

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Coding and Robotics in the General Ed Classroom

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Coding and Robotics in the General Ed Classroom

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Coding and Robotics in the Elementary Classroom Presentation

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Coding and Robotics in the Elementary Classroom Presentation

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STEM, Coding and Robotics in the Classroom (1)

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HELP! There is a BUG in the code! Code is ALL around us in the technology word. If there is a bug, things just won't work as expected. With this bug we can't "escape". Can you try to figure out the clues to answer the questions to escape the "code"? There are clues everywhere! Watch the videos, and click around! Good luck cracking the code to escape.

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HELP! There is a BUG in the code! Code is ALL around us in the technology word. If there is a bug, things just won't work as expected. With this bug we can't "escape". Can you try to figure out the clues to answer the questions to escape the "code"?

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Hello friends, can you help me? I wanted to complete a STEM challenge later, but I seem to have forgot the steps to the design process. Can you help me remember them?

Click on the picture below. There are 4 clickable links, and lots of clues hidden in the image! Try your best to escape as quickly as you can! Type your answers in the form below! Good luck...

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Hello friends, can you help me? I wanted to complete a STEM challenge later, but I seem to have forgot the steps to the design process. Can you help me remember them? Click on the picture below. There are 4 clickable links, and lots of clues hidden in the image! Try your best to escape as quickly

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Coding on the Keyboard to Introduce Coding to Kids and Practice Typing

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Coding on the Keyboard to Introduce Coding to Kids and Practice Typing

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Coding on the Keyboard is a fun way to introduce coding concepts and vocabulary to kids while having them practice keyboarding! Integrating coding in the classroom via games is one way to introduce basic CS concepts while also practicing other necessary skills.

Learn more about coding on the keyboard and how students can use this game to also build familiarity with the layout of the QWERTY keyboard plus grab a free sample to try with your students!

Directional Coding to Introduce Vocabulary

Regardless of your feelings about if students should be taught to code specific coding languages (spoiler alert: I think they should be), the foundational skills inherent in coding activities transfer to other disciplines are worthwhile to learn. Things like:

problem solving

following directions

precision

accuracy

troubleshooting

These are all skills that can be taught when you have students coding in the classroom.

For younger students, directional coding activities like mazes or simple coding robots are great for introducing the vocabulary and basic Computer Science concepts. Plus they are often fun and gamified, which helps students develop confidence that "anyone can code."

I like that ideas that these coding games are an analogy of coding and still address key terms like:

I try to use these terms with kids in ways that are more concrete first since CS can be kind of conceptual for the littles. For example, I'm a terrible cook. When a recipe doesn't turn out quite right, I may say I have to "debug" and figure out where I went wrong. Code.org has a fantastic dancing activity that has steps of a dance representing an algorithm.

Coding on the Keyboard

One things that many younger students struggle with is the location of keys on the QWERTY keyboard. And while I don't think two hand touch typing should be a focus in K-3, I do think developing authentic tasks that build their awareness and comfort with the location of keys is important.

I created ASCII Text Art Coding for extra practice with symbol keys but I wanted something for younger K-3 students to locate the letter keys. And because it's CS Week, I figured, why not combine it with coding concepts as another way to practice coding vocabulary and basic skills!

With these coding challenges, students follow the code to move across the QWERTY keyboard to type a word. I played around with the layout and settled on a path style with each step of the algorithm on one square.

I know we are always looking for unplugged versions because many schools are not 1:1 so I included a blackline version of each challenge that students can use.

If you want to go paperless, I created a version on Google Slides (also will export to Microsoft PowerPoint). Students will use the actual keyboard to move and type the secret word.

I'll be creating lots more Coding on the Keyboard seasonal themed sets for additional holidays and other topics so stay tuned or send me a message if you have a request!

Coding on the Keyboard Challenges

One of the things that students will find challenging is the precision needed to make the words. One wrong move and you end up on the wrong letter which may throw off the entire output!

Students need to develop strategies to stay organized. My daughter started to check each box as she moved and drew on the blackline keyboard with each move. She was much more accurate when she used this strategy.

It's up you if you want to introduce a strategy, or even better, let students try it for a bit then share what they are doing to be successful.

Another challenge is to have students create their own code! They can either draw the code on the blackline sheet or type it on the Google Slides. I left blanks in the activity for this very reason.

Students can write the codes to type:

Coding on the Keyboard vs Real Coding

This comes up A LOT whenever I create or research or try out various coding activities. I posted on my Instagram a funny quote to share some of my concerns and thoughts about using coding analogies to represent actual coding and the ensuing discussion was awesome.

Click the post to hop over to my Insta to join our chat!

Because let's be honest, learning actual coding languages isn't exactly fun and games. Coding is very different in reality then the user-friendly interface on kids online coding games. So are these games problematic?

I've realized that part of the issue is that in elementary, without a definitive mandatory CS requirement in schools, many teachers are doing coding in isolation. There is not a guarantee that students will code again the next year. We don't get to see the progression from games and basic skills to more rigorous coding platforms.

Coding Skills Progression

However, when I talk with teachers in schools with a STEM or tech teacher in place, I hear a much more positive take: that early coding analogies, games, and mazes are a solid way to introduce CS concepts before lifting the veil in the upper grades and middle.

I liken it to playing board games and math. Kids learn subitizing when they add dice, they learn "counting on" as they move around the board. They may not make direct math connections but the practice helps make the math more concrete. Right now my girls are enjoying Monopoly so now they are learning some very basic money skills.

Coding games, basic robots, and the mazes in Hour of Code for example, are all ways littles can start to "code." Start to make deeper connections with Scratch Jr. and lessons on Code.org. Further that with other block coding. Then maybe in 4th, introduce coding languages a bit.

Integrating Coding with Other Skills and Subjects

Taking all of the above into consideration, I think it is important then to integrate coding ideas with other skills and topics. Rather than just move a robot around a random maze, have the robot retell a story in sequence as it moves. Use Ozobots to solve math equations. Solve coding challenges and practice keyboarding...see where I am going with this?

In elementary, time is such a deciding factor. By combining some skills together, you meet both needs. Kids are problem solving, counting, and learning which keys are next to each other all in one ... I consider that a win!

Try a sample of an unplugged Coding on The Keyboard challenge in my free resource library and sign up for my newsletter below.

Get the Free Sample and More When You Subscribe to Erintegration

What do you think? How are you connecting coding to other subject areas or skills in your classroom? When do you "lift the veil" and introduce coding languages? Be sure to tag me on social media if you try the Coding on the Keyboard sample or any of my themed sets.

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Coding on the Keyboard to Introduce Coding to Kids and Practice Typing

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Coding on the Keyboard is a fun way to introduce coding concepts and vocabulary to kids while having them practice keyboarding! Integrating coding in the classroom via games is one way to introduce basic CS concepts while also practicing other necessary skills.

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Unplugged Coding Activities | The Ultimate Guide for Elementary

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Unplugged Coding Activities | The Ultimate Guide for Elementary

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Your Ultimate Guide for Elementary Unplugged Coding Activities includes 20+ projects that teach real coding concepts while emphasizing computer science mindsets - all with minimal prep and zero tech devices required.

How can you teach coding without computers? The key is to provide hands-on, engaging learning experiences that encourage children to think like a coder. This means projects that foster resilience, critical thinking, logical reasoning, and creative problem solving skills for students- the same skills used by computer scientists every day!

Printable coding worksheets for elementary students

Perfect for when you need a ready-to-go mini-lesson! These unplugged coding activities worksheets were inspired by Kodable. Click here to learn more about Kodable.

Activities ranging from 5 - 30 minutes long and can be completed without any tech device

Sequence Unplugged Coding Activities

Definition: Sequence is an order of events

Activity 1: Code a Friend
Partners | Materials: None

1. One partner is the "coder" and one partner is the "robot".

2. The coder decides on a simple task for their partner "robot" to do; the simpler the task, the better, like "walk across the room."

3. Next, the coder gives their partner "robot" step-by-step instructions, also known as an algorithm, to complete the task. "Robots" need to remember that they can only do exactly what their coder tells them to do.

4. If one of the steps is incorrect or not specific enough, this will result in a bug in their algorithm and it will need to be redone.

5. Switch places when finished.

Coding Connection: Computers need an explicit sequence of instructions to do anything! As a result, there will be bugs and the program won't work correctly if instruction (code) is not clear enough.

Activity 2: Origami Without Instructions
Individual | Materials: Square paper (origami paper preferred)

1. Take a square piece of paper and fold it into the shape of a fish - no cutting, gluing, or looking at references!

2. When done, reflect on the process - How did it go? What was easy? What was difficult? How long did it take?

3. Then, take another piece of paper and fold it into a fish again, but this time, refer to these step-by-step instructions.

4. Reflect again - How do the two fish compare? Which process was easier or faster? Which process would you choose if you had to do it again?

Coding Connection: When creating paper animals, a clear sequence of instructions will help save time and minimize mistakes. This is also true for computer code, because a computer needs step-by-step instructions written in code to perform tasks.
Pairs or Group | Materials: Treasure, paper and pencil

1. One person hides a piece of "treasure" (this could be anything!) in an indoor or outdoor space.

2. Next, the treasure hider writes out instructions explaining how to find the hidden object. The instructions need to be very clear so the finder knows exactly what to do - otherwise, they won't get to the treasure! Example:

3. Take 10 steps STRAIGHT

4. Turn RIGHT and take 5 big hops

5. Turn LEFT and crawl 8 times

6. Dig 2 inches down to find the treasure!

7. Once the instructions are written, the finder follows them exactly.

8. If instructions aren't clear enough, the hider may need to find the bug and fix it so the finder can successfully reach the treasure.

9. Switch places when finished.

Activity 3: Treasure Obstacle Course

Coding Connection: The treasure finder needs very clear instructions for how to find the treasure, just like computers need very clear and concrete algorithms to execute their tasks.

Hold

Conditions Unplugged Coding Activities

Definition: A condition is and exception to a rule. A conditional statement is an "if... then...." statement that changes how code is executed. d
Pairs or Group | Materials: None

"If I jump once, then you jump once!"

1. One partner is the leader and one is the follower.

2. The leader starts by giving simple instructions in the format of an If...Then...statement. For example: "If I touch my nose, then you touch your nose" or "If I jump once, then you jump once" etc. Try out a few actions.

3. To increase difficulty, the leader can specify outcomes that are different than the condition. For example: "If I jump once, then you jump three times" or "If i spin in a circle, then you clap your hands".

4. Once the pair has come up with a few actions, the leader can perform them at random! See if the follower can keep up, without forgetting what action to perform with each direction from the leader.

5. Switch roles when finished.

Activity 1: Follow the Leader
Individual or Pairs | Materials: Paper, drawing supplies

1. Come up with a rule - something that always happens in the same way. For example, "I go to school on Mondays".

2. Then, come up with an exception, also known as a condition, to this rule. For example, "If it is a holiday, then I don't go to school on Monday." Write the conditional statement at the top of a piece of paper.

3. Use the rest of the paper space to illustrate the conditional statement. In this example, you could draw a picture of your favorite holiday.

4. Repeat this process 3 times so you have three conditional art pieces!

5. If working in pairs, one partner can come up with the rules, and the other can come up with the condition and draw the image. Then, switch roles.

Coding Connection: A new condition from the leader can change the action performed by the follower, just like a condition in code can change the path a computer program takes.
Pairs | Materials: None

1. Rock paper scissors is a hand game played between two people. At the same time, each player forms one of three shapes with an outstretched hand. These shapes are "rock" (make a fist), "paper" (flat hand), and "scissors" (make the number 2)

2. The winner is decided using a set of conditional statements:

First, If rock and scissors are played, then rock wins

Then, If scissors and paper are played, then scissors wins

Next, If paper and rock are played, then paper win

Finally, If the same object is played, then the round is a tie

1. Play three rounds. Using the conditional statements listed above, players will determine the winner of each round. TIP: Doing this activity in school? Have your students complete this handout to track the conditions!

2. As an extension, make up brand new actions (instead of rock, paper, and scissors) and decide what conditions result in a win!

Activity 2: If This, Then...Art!

Coding Connection: A condition is an exception to a rule. The way a program runs is based on rules and conditions, just like how real world events can change based on certain conditions too!

Activity 3: Rock, Paper, Scissors
Individual, Pairs, or Groups | Materials: Paper and pencil (optional)

"Spin 2 times, Clap 5 times, Wiggle one time!"

1. The learner decides if they want to create a fun workout routine or a dance routine.

2. Come up with three physical actions to perform. For a workout routine, this could be a jumping jack, pushup, and sit-up. For a dance routine, this could be a spin, clap, and wiggle.

3. Decide how many times each action should be repeated, or "looped". For example, "spin 2 times, clap 5 times, wiggle one time".

4. Perform the routine all together, looping each action the designated number of times. Then, try looping the entire routine at least twice!

5. As an extension, invite a partner to execute the same commands and perform the routine together!

Coding Connection: The outcome of the game is determined by the conditions set before it starts. The same is true in coding, where the outcome of a computer program is determined by the conditions outlined in the code.

Hold

Loops Unplugged Coding Activities

Definition: A loop is a command that repeats a part of code a certain number of times.
Individual | Materials: Paper and pencil, printer (optional)

1. Pick a simple song for which you know the tune and lyrics. For example, "Happy Birthday" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

2. Look at the printed lyrics or sing the song, and try to find lines that are repeated multiple times. For example, in the "Happy Birthday" song, the line "Happy birthday to you" is repeated 3 times.

3. Next, sing the song again, but this time replace all the repeated lyrics with the word "Function". So the Happy Birthday song would go "Function, Function, Happy birthday dear _____, Function"

4. Count the number of times the word "Function" comes up!

5. For an extension, replace the word "Function" with some brand new lyrics that you invent, and come up with a remixed song!

Activity 1: A Loopy Routine

Coding Connection: A loop can be used to repeat a physical action, just like a loop in coding will repeat a portion of code a certain number of times.
Individual | Materials: Multi-colored beads, string

1. Cut a piece of string so it is just longer than wrist-size. Tie a knot at the end of a string.

2. Decide on a pattern of 3 beads that you want to repeat multiple times in your bracelet. For example, Pink-Blue-Pink. We can call this set of beads a "function".

3. Start stringing beads onto the yarn. After 5 beads, add your first "function". In this example, this means the pattern of Pink-Blue-Pink.

4. Add 5 more beads. Then, add your function again. Repeat this process until the string is full with beads.

5. Tie a knot on the other end and display your finished bracelet!

6. Observe - How many times were you able to repeat the function beads?

Hold

Functions Unplugged Coding Activities

Definition: A function is a defined set of steps that result in a single outcome and can be used more than once.

Activity 1: Lyrical Function Finder
Individual, Pairs, or Groups | Materials: Basket for collecting (optional)

Property = Color. Value = "Yellow"

1. Head outside into nature.

2. First, pick a specific property by which you want to categorize nature objects. Examples include color, shape, texture, smell, etc.

3. Then, choose a value that you will search for. For example, if the property is "color", then the value could be "yellow" or "purple".

4. Collect nature objects based the property and value selected

5. When finished, challenge a partner or family member to guess the property value you identified. Did they guess right?

6. As an extension, try instead to collect a wide range of nature objects. Bring them back to a work space, and categorize them by different properties. For example, first sort by color, then sort by shape, and by texture. How many categories can you identify?

Multi-day projects that integrate numerous coding concepts and mindsets

Coding Connection: Many songs have a hook or chorus that includes the exact same lyrics and repeats in multiple places throughout the song. Similarly, there are certain lines of code that a programmer might want to repeat throughout a program. To do this, they use a function!

Activity 2: Beaded Bracelets

Construct a board game using recycled materials like cardboard, plastic containers, bottles, foil, etc.

Create an accompanying instruction manual. Rules should include step-by-step instructions for how to play (sequence), define what causes things to happen in the game (conditions), and describe the physical game features (properties).

Coding Connection: Each bead represents a line of code. Programmers will often want to use certain lines of code again and again throughout a program, so they store that code in a function. The repeating bead pattern is one easy way to visualize this process!

Think of a storybook character and describe their characteristics (properties).

Write a fiction story about your character with a clear sequence of events from start to finish.

Choose an event in the middle of the story and think about what the ending of the story would be if that event changed.

Create a second ending based on this new condition. The path the story takes will depend on the condition the reader chooses!

Hold

Design a tool that helps solve a real-world problem.

Use recycled materials, nature objects, or craft supplies to physically build the tool.

As you build, identify certain actions that you need to repeat (loop) in order to build it correctly.

Write out or verbally describe the algorithm that someone else could follow to create the same tool (sequence).

Properties Unplugged Coding Activities

Definition: A property is a characteristic of an object.

Activity 1: Nature Scavenger Hunt

Coding Connection: In code, properties can determine the output of a program, or what a user sees. Similarly, an objects' properties in the real world can impact how we see and compare them.

Encourage learners to apply what they've learned with creative culminating unplugged coding activities - Still no tech required! (recommended for 3rd grade and above).

Activity 1: Build a Board Game

Activity 2: Write a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Story

Activity 3: Invent a Useful Tool

Share your Unplugged Coding Activities

Are you ready to try unplugged coding activities with your class? Don't forget to tag us on social media @kodable so we can see!

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Unplugged Coding Activities | The Ultimate Guide for Elementary | Kodable

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Your Ultimate Guide for Elementary Unplugged Coding Activities includes 20+ projects that teach real coding concepts while emphasizing computer science mindsets - all with minimal prep and zero tech devices required.

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5 Easy Unplugged Coding Activities You Can Do Outside

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5 Easy Unplugged Coding Activities You Can Do Outside

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Explainer: what’s the difference between STEM and STEAM?

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Explainer: what’s the difference between STEM and STEAM?

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Explainer: what’s the difference between STEM and STEAM?

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The A in STEAM stands for arts, and it has important influences in science, technology, engineering and maths.

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We Need STEAM, Not STEM Education, To Prepare Our Kids For The 4th Industrial Revolution

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We Need STEAM, Not STEM Education, To Prepare Our Kids For The 4th Industrial Revolution

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We are at the beginning of a 4th industrial revolution and educators are faced with preparing a generation of students for many jobs that don't even exist yet. Since the term STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) was coined back in 2001, there has been growing interest in this learning philosophy to better prepare today's students for tomorrow's jobs. However, to adequately prepare the future workforce, another acronym is gaining popularity: STEAM, which adds arts to the mix.

We Need STEAM, Not STEM Education, To Prepare Our Kids For The 4th Industrial Revolution
Adobe Stock

What is STEM?
Since jobs in the real-world draw upon several disciplines at once, STEM does the same with science, technology, engineering, and math. Lessons integrate all these disciplines, so it's, therefore, more realistic to real-life applications than traditional philosophies of education that have the various subjects in silos.

If you think about the job duties of an architect who incorporates elements of science, technology, engineering, and math to complete their job responsibilities, you can see how educating children with an interdisciplinary approach is more applicable to what they will face after graduation.

STEM also prioritizes project- and inquiry-based learning. Every child needs to acquire problem-solving skills and technology literacy to be prepared for the 21st-century workplace. STEM integrates and applies math and science to create technologies and solutions to solve real-world problems by using an engineering design approach.

One of the largest challenges to STEM adoption is funding and resources. There must be investments made in the latest technology and how to use it as well as training educators about how to incorporate new technology into lesson plans. Additionally, education systems are very focused on assessments and grades rather than recognizing when activities foster creativity, innovation, and critical thinking skills.
What is STEAM?
Leonardo Da Vinci was on to something years ago when he stated, "Study the science of art. Study the art of science." More recently, students and academics at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) have spearheaded the concept of STEAM-which brings the elements of STEM together with arts to guide students' critical thinking, inquiry, and dialogue. Proponents of STEAM education recognize the importance of creativity and innovation in the future to solve our problems.

In fact, according to one study, nearly all Nobel laureates in the sciences practice some form of art as adults. When you compare these successful scientists with others, they are significantly more likely than other scientists to practice art in a variety of forms, from acting to singing, writing poetry to woodworking, and more. It's this science success and art connection that make STEAM proponents believe that by integrating arts to a child's education, it creates a person more ready to meet the ingenuity demands of our economy.

Students who receive a STEAM education engage in experiential learning, collaborate with others, and persist in problem-solving as they take thoughtful risks and work through the creative process. In fact, many employers, educators, and parents believe STEAM helps fill in a gap left by STEM of key skills/attributes children need to thrive.
Why do we need STEAM?
STEAM incorporates the benefits of STEM in and through the arts to give a more complete, well-rounded education. Although some feel this distinction is unnecessary because regular STEM incorporates creativity, leaders of the STEAM movement feel that the arts provides a critical missing piece to STEM education that then prepares students to not only understand science, technology, engineering, and math but know how to apply principles from each of these disciplines to creatively solve problems. Here's how educationalist Sir Ken Robinson discusses STEAM in his TedTalk.

While the STEAM movement is still relatively new, it's gaining "steam." In fact, the revered children's education program Sesame Street has added STEAM to its program. Problem-solvers in the future will have to look beyond what first feels like a limitation and approach challenges with inquiry, wonder, and innovation. These are skills that the arts exercise.

In order to create a successful STEAM program, it is essential that the arts are included in STEM in an authentic way. It's not about adding creativity to STEM, but rather to apply art in real-world situations. For example, if students had an assignment to create a product as a STEM project, incorporating arts in an authentic way would be to improve the appearance or design of the product using principles of industrial design.

Since we don't yet know what jobs will look like as we progress further into the 21 st century, it makes sense to educate our children with the skills and capacity to think outside the box with creative solutions. This is something a STEAM education can effectively prepare them to do.

You might also want to check out this video in which I discuss the 7 Key skills that will help anyone succeed during the 4th industrial revolution:

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We Need STEAM, Not STEM Education, To Prepare Our Kids For The 4th Industrial Revolution

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In education, many people have heard about STEM, a philosophy of education that incorporates science, technology, engineering, and math. Fewer have heard about STEAM. The addition of A for arts is seen as a critical element to educate children for jobs in the 21st century.

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Did you know 65 percent of today's students will be working in jobs that don't exist today?
So, if these jobs don't exist, how do we prepare children for an unknown future?
Think back to when you were a child.... do you remember how big your first computer was or the painful sound of dial up internet or the joyful sound of "You've got mail!"?
(I have included a clip below for any millennial reading this that has no idea what I am talking about).
In my first year of teaching elementary art, I had one student ask a question that impacted the rest of my career and still motivates me today.

It was my very first class and I had just finished explaining our art assignment, but no one moved to get started. It was so silent you could hear a pin drop and I had 25 pairs of eyes staring back at me.

As the hair on the back of my neck started to rise, one student slowly raised his hand and asked one question that ignited my passion for STEAM.
"But Mrs. Hand, what do you want us to draw"?
I realized my students were sitting there staring at me because they were waiting for the rest of the directions.

They were waiting for the step by step instructions of what I wanted.

By fifth grade, these students had masteredhow to follow directions and reproduce what the teacher wanted. They had no idea how to start and communicate their own idea.

You may already be familiar with the acronym STEM which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

Did you know originally the acronym was "SMET" until Peter Faletra, the Director of Science for the division of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists suggested to rearrange the letters and call it STEM.

But what is STEAM?

STEAM is STEM plus the inclusion of the Arts.
But STEAM goes beyond simply adding an art project into your classroom curriculum.
"STEAM uses design methods to approach STEM subjects creatively and make them real-world-relevant to all students, not just those already interested." Anne Jolly Education Week

It doesn't matter if your students grow up to be a scientist, a mathematician, a designer, or a business leader, every future job will require creative, innovative and motivated thinkers that need to solve problems and communicate ideas.

I knew every student in my fifth-grade class would not grow up to be a professional artist but it was my job to motivate them to be creative problem solvers so they could be successful no matter future lies ahead.
How can you encourage students to be innovative, creative and invent their own unique solutions to problems or challenges?
You already have a day filled with teaching standards, giving assessments, analyzing data, filling out paperwork, attending meetings, continuing your own professional development, and taking care of your own family's needs.
You do not have time to search and find STEAM projects and lessons. Don't worry, I am going to make it real easy for you.
Get Started with STEAM in 3 Easy Steps
Step 1: Know your student's interests.
Ask your students what they like. What do they like to do on the weekends or after school?

Do -> Create a google form for your students to fill out. A Google form makes it easy to keep track and record your students' interests. If you teach young children, simply observe and notice what type of questions they ask you.
Step 2: Start simple!
You can get started with STEAM without needing a grant or fancy robotic equipment. Get started today with the classroom supplies you already have.

Do -> Try a quick challenge like our Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Alphabet challenge or Lego Boat Challenge.
Step 3: Integrate STEAM into your existing lessons.
You do not need to reinvent the wheel. Take what you are already doing and integrate STEAM into the lesson.

Do -> Join our Facebook group where you can ask questions and have over 700 other STEAM minded supporters help you brainstorm STEAM lesson ideas (much faster than searching through Pinterest).
It doesn't matter if you call it STEM or STEAM (or even SMET), w hat is important is preparing every child for the future by being a problem solver.
How to Get Started Today!

Once my fifth-grade students trusted that I meant they could draw what was important to them, they took off with their own creativity.
Together we transformed our art classroom into a functioning problem-solving studio ....and you can do it too.
I am so thankful for that fifth-grade student and his question as it motivated me to create an environment of creativity, inquiry, and discovery for my students.

If you are looking for more STEAM ideas be sure to check out our latest book, STEAM Kids: 50+ Science / Technology / Engineering / Art / Math Hands-On Projects for Kids.

Take a sneak peak of the activities included in the book below.

Are you ready to get started with STEAM today?

Inside the book, STEAM Kids: 50+ Science / Technology / Engineering / Art / Math Hands-On Projects for Kids you will find 50+ hands-on STEAM activities that will inspire your kids to engineer, create, design, explore and build the unimaginable.
Click Here to Buy the Digital Ebook PDF
Built on the expertise of an MIT engineer, award-winning educators, graphic designers, and homeschooling experts, STEAM Kids was created to help you inspire your students and save you time!

Click Here to Buy the Physical Book (Amazon)
Click Here to Buy the Digital Ebook PDF
Click here to learn more about the book.

Click Here to Buy the Physical Book (Amazon)

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STEM vs STEAM, Does the A Matter? - Innovation Kids Lab

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Did you know 65 percent of today's students will be working in jobs that don't exist today? (source) So, if these jobs don't exist, how do we prepare children for an unknown future? Think back to when you were a child.... do you remember how big your first computer was or the painful sound of ...

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Prof. John O'Halloran - Why STEAM matters?

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Prof. John O'Halloran - Why STEAM matters?

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0:00 / 0:57•Watch full video

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Prof. John O'Halloran - Why STEAM matters?

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contributed by Lesley University Online
This is sponsored content. Sponsored or not, we never publish any content we don't feel meaningfully contributes to innovation and growth in your teaching. You can read more about our sponsored content policy here.
The need for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education is critical, especially because there will be more than 3 million job openings in STEM-related fields by 2018.

But administrators and policymakers now recognize the benefits of integrating arts education into STEM subjects. The Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced No Child Left Behind in 2015, encourages the incorporation of arts and design into the curriculum by citing states' obligation to support arts education programs in public schools. And U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. touted the benefits of a 'well-rounded education' in a speech at the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts in April 2016.

Now, instead of focusing solely on STEM, education experts are finding ways to innovate in the classroom with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics). This approach teaches K-12 students to think creatively and engage in other subject areas using skills learned in the arts.

About STEAM

STEAM utilizes the arts along with traditional STEM subjects as "access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking," according to EducationCloset, a digital learning hub for educators. "The end results are students who take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration, and work through the creative process," EducationCloset continues. STEAM works by leveraging the benefits associated with STEM with the accessibility of visual art, poetry, music, and drama. Students can make connections and learn in a variety of ways, reaping the benefits that a STEAM education can provide.

Educators support the use of STEAM in the classroom, according to Voices from the field: Teachers' views on the relevance of arts integration, a 2012 study from Lesley University. This two-year study featured data from 204 teachers in 19 states. According to its findings, "teachers report that arts integration stimulates deep learning, creates increased student engagement, and cultivates students' investment in learning."

In addition, STEAM approaches can help students learn skills relevant to the 21st-century, including innovation and cultural sensitivity. The study reports that a well-rounded approach to education also better enables teachers to use differentiated instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners. These findings are significant because they highlight the perspectives of teachers who are practicing STEAM in the classroom and seeing the benefits firsthand.

STEAM's Impact in the Classroom

As a result of the adoption of STEAM in classrooms across the country, new teaching methods have emerged. These approaches combine subjects and disciplines that have been siloed from one another traditionally, says Maureen Creegan-Quinquis, associate professor within Lesley University's Graduate School of Education. And according to The Washington Post, STEAM promotes " skills seen as important in academic and life success."

Here are some of the skills the Post says students stand to gain from STEAM.

New Skills: 4 Benefits Of STEAM Education

Creativity

Teaching students to think 'outside of the box' causes them to approach tasks differently. They learn to be creative by utilizing a wide variety of thought processes and skills throughout a classroom day.

Confidence

Approaches grounded in visual art, drama, and creative writing give students hands-on training in delivering a message and doing so with confidence. When combined with science, mathematics and technology-based topics, students learn to tackle tough subjects with self-assurance.

Problem-Solving

Learning new skills, whether technical or artistic, teaches students to approach new, potentially challenging situations with a positive attitude. Using STEAM, teachers can help students solve problems creatively using a variety of methods.

Collaboration

STEAM classrooms are highly collaborative, with students working together to grasp new information using multiple access points. They learn to share responsibility and compromise by working on group projects that incorporate multiple disciplines.

For Creegan-Quinquis, the effectiveness of STEAM is no surprise: "Science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the arts all have very similar intellectual ancestors: some of the same philosophical underpinnings, some of the same inquiry questions. There's always been connection between the arts and these other domains ... the difference is that now you will see deliberate as opposed to accidental cross-pollination between the subjects and a lot of it is about making learning accessible."

She points out that one of STEAM's central benefits is that it provides multiple access points, giving students with different learning styles and backgrounds ample opportunities to learn in the way that is best for them.

Applying STEAM Principles for Success

Creegan-Quinquis provides several useful examples of how teachers can successfully integrate the five STEAM subjects into the classroom day. The first involves utilizing digital tools: "Classroom teachers use a lot of interactive books online, the kind that are very artistic and creative, and actually have animations and movement ... with the focus on being able to use it to teach new vocabulary [for example]."

Giving students multiple options for presenting what they learn is another useful feature of STEAM. "You may have a student who is quiet ... and they are not always the first one jumping up and raising their hand. If you know that student likes rap and you ask her to make a rap song about a mathematic equation, watch what happens when she starts rapping. You often will be inspired and excited by how much she knows," she says.

Taking a multidimensional approach to assignments is another way to successfully integrate STEAM. Creegan-Quinquis uses the example of teaching Shakespeare's Macbeth: "Ask them to do a little creative writing, then act out part of the play based on their own [re]writing of the script. You may have them playing William Shakespeare being interviewed about why he wrote the characters that he did. You may have students create collages of the characters. Approaches like these can all enhance their understanding of the book they read."

She suggests using technology to teach subjects like social studies and science. "I might use technology to have students research three different multimedia experiences of an important event in history," she explains. "In science the students will use lots of graphics to give visible form to their experiment. They will create their own documentary. They will use animation apps [and] iMovie." All of these strategies enable teachers to implement STEAM in their classrooms.

Innovation and the 21st-Century Classroom

The STEAM movement is an important trend in K-12 education because of the rapid pace of innovation and the changing nature of the job market. "Education is under pressure to respond to a changing world. As repetitive tasks are eroded by technology and outsourcing, the ability to solve novel problems has become increasingly vital," according to Jeevan Vasagar at the Financial Times. This puts STEAM at the forefront of education, and teachers who can successfully incorporate these approaches into their curriculum can help students prepare for the challenges and innovations of the modern world.

Lesley University's online Master of Education programs equip teachers with the knowledge and tools to effectively educate students in the modern classroom. With specialized degrees in Mathematics Education, Science in Education, and Digital Literacy and Computer Science, Lesley offers opportunities for educators to deepen their understanding of current approaches and hone their teaching skills and assessment strategies.

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New Skills: 4 Benefits Of STEAM Education |

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contributed by Lesley University Online This is sponsored content. Sponsored or not, we never publish any content we don't feel meaningfully contributes to innovation and growth in your teaching. You can read more about our sponsored content policy here.

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STEM and STEAM Lesson Plans and Examples

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STEM and STEAM Lesson Plans and Examples

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STEM and STEAM Lesson Plans and Examples

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Wikki Stix take the intimidation factor out of STEM projects! These can be scary subjects for lots of kids but because Wikki Stix are essentially "mistake-free", students can become meaningfully engaged in math and science projects... and enjoy doing them!

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What if I told you I had the secret to getting your kids to love learning and I could boost their creativity? Sounds pretty crazy right? How could I possibly get your kids begging you do to more learning activities and asking questions about the world around them on a daily basis? You might be even more surprised to learn most of the materials to make this happen are right in your own home.

* This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. Click here for my full disclosure.

When I was growing up, I had one class I couldn't wait to go to every day. I know it sounds crazy to hear someone say they couldn't wait to go to school, but there was something that always caught my eye and sparked my natural curiosity that couldn't keep me away.

In fact, I wasn't the only one in my school that felt the same way. I can still remember, making rockets in the football field, and actually being excited for our next concoction in chemistry. Anytime I run into one of my old friends from school, we always find our way back to chats about our awesome science teachers and we seem to all agree one one important thing!

I am pretty sure if it wasn't for science class, I wouldn't have become the person I have become today.

When I was in school, we didn't focus on something called "STEM" education, and yet, that is exactly what it was. No, I take that back. It was STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math all wrapped into one). When I started to learn more and more about what this is, I realized exactly why my Science teachers had me wrapped around their fingers. They had figured out how to make learning fun, engaging, and meaningful to my life.

It is now my mission to do the same for my kids. I thrive on seeing their eyes light up at a new discovery.

Inspiring young minds doesn't have to be such a struggle.

What you need is a plan. You need a resource at you fingertips that will keep your kids engaged and learning without all the guesswork on your end.

Today I want to share 50+ STEAM projects to boost creativity and get your kids thinking out of the box and begging for more hands on fun.

50+ Awesome STEAM Projects

For the last year, I have been collaborating on a project that is near and dear to my heart. We have gathered over 50 ways to encourage creativity and out of the box thinking with STEAM and want to share these with you. We have put together an awesome resource that is sure to boost creativity, especially if you have an engineer or tinkerer you are trying to entertain.

Before I get to that, I want to share some of our favorite STEAM projects.

STEAM Engineering Projects for Kids

STEAM Science Experiments for Kids

STEAM Starter Guides

8 Science and Engineering Practices Every Kid Should Learn
Top 10 Summer Engineering Projects for Kids
The Science of Sensory Dough
Best Science Experiments for Little Engineers
Top 10 Gifts for Kids Who Love Science Experiments
3 Genius Tips for Raising Out of the Box Thinkers
The Best Planning Books for Teaching Inquiry Based Science

These ideas are a great starting point to squash boredom and get your kids begging for more learning ideas. However, I think I have a resource that is even better.

STEAM Kids: 50+ Science / Technology / Engineering / Art / Math Hands-On Projects for Kids

I am excited to announce our new book, STEAM Kids: 50+ Science / Technology / Engineering / Art / Math Hands-On Projects for Kids , is full of amazing STEAM ideas that have been tested and tried by kids all over the world. With creativity and inquiry in mind, each of these learning ideas will encourage your child to not only find a cure to boredom, but also learn something awesome in the process.

STEAM Kids: 50+ Science / Technology / Engineering / Art / Math Hands-On Projects for Kids is packed with the over fifty hands-on learning activities that will wow "I'm bored" right out of your kiddo's vocabulary.
STEAM Kids is a book that will inspire children to:
question like a scientist
design like a technologist
build like an engineer
create like an artist
deduce like a mathematician

- and, most importantly -
play like a kid.
The book is laid out in an easy to read format with full color pictures that make it easy enough for you child to read. The best part is that for a very limited time, we are offering a FREE Ebook of Even MORE STEAM Projects when you purchase the digital e-book.
Click here to get your copy today.
Inside you'll find activities like... a PVC Pipe Slingshot, Rainbow Reactions, Simple Machine Challenge, Plant Science and more! Not only have we included over 50 STEAM activities, we have created a simple to use weekly activity planner, STEAM journal pages, a full and exciting field trip guide and even a shopping list to get you started with simple STEAM building ideas.

STEAM Kids Launch Special

Pick up a copy of the book this week (9/14/16) and you'll get a special launch price AND an extra 50+ page STEAM Kids Halloween activity e-book. All for 50% off. Launch price is $9.99 (a $19.98 value!).

I love hearing and learning about more ways to boost creativity with STEAM activities! Please, don't hesitate to comment, email, or share pictures on social media so we can celebrate awesome learning taking place and boredom being squashed. If you post on social media, you can use the hashtag steamkidsbook so we can easily spot your awesomeness!

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50+ Totally Awesome STEAM Projects to Boost Creativity

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What if I told you I had the secret to getting your kids to love learning and I could boost their creativity? Sounds pretty crazy right? How could I possibly get your kids begging you do to more learning activities and asking questions about the world around them on a daily basis?

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How to Implement Library Makerspaces in STEM Programs

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How to Implement Library Makerspaces in STEM Programs

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Technology Solutions That Drive Education

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What's the best way to define a makerspace? For Laura Fleming, library media specialist at New Milford High School in New Jersey, a library makerspace is a unique learning environment that encourages tinkering, play and open-ended exploration for all.

Fleming, who also runs and manages her own business, Worlds of Making, says too often schools build library makerspaces just for the top engineering students or the gifted and talented students.

"When makerspaces really work, they are open to the entire student body," she says. "It's really a mindset and a philosophy of education."

Fleming says whether the district sets up a makerspace in an elementary school library, in a middle school classroom or in a high school cafeteria, each makerspace has a unique quality.

"Here in New Milford, we set aside a part of the library for our makerspace," Fleming explains. "But much of this depends on a district's budget and the resources they can bring to the project. A makerspace should be offered as a voluntary educational activity that the students want to participate in. We've found that when it's required, the students will just do 'what the teacher is looking for' and much of the innovation and creativity gets lost."

Here are five ideas to follow from Fleming on how to set up a library makerspace that will foster creativity and expand on your STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculum:
SIGN UP: Get more news from the EdTech newsletter in your inbox every two weeks!
1. Understand the Needs of Students in a Library Makerspace Project

So much of the success of a library makerspace depends on identifying the needs of students. Start by seeking student input. Some schools send out formal paper surveys, while others hold informal discussions in the classroom. Find out what activities they have done before, what they would like to learn or if they have attended any special science and math camps.

2. Assess the School's Existing STEM Programs

When Fleming did an assessment at New Milford High School she found that robotics was only offered to the top 25 or 30 engineering students, the majority of whom were boys. Why not offer robotics in the makerspace to the entire student population? A school she worked with a handful of years ago didn't offer any computer science programs. The school then started offering computer science and coding skills in the makerspace, and over the last several years integrated computer science into the curriculum. School officials can also take a close look at how the students score on state assessment tests and decide which areas for the makerspace to focus on.

3. Incorporate STEM Trends into Your Library Makerspace

There's so much innovation in education today that teachers and administrators have to look beyond the walls of the school. One good example: The more Fleming read about technology, the more stories she saw about drones. In the past year or two, educators have had students do research and build small drones in the makerspace.

4. Constantly Learn from and Evolve Your Library Makerspace

Based on Fleming's research, certain patterns and themes began to emerge. At New Milford High School, she opted to develop makerspace themes on engineering and design, computer coding, robotics and molecular gastronomy, a science-based approach to diet. One elementary school she worked with took all the offbeat and childish ideas from its students and designed a "whimsey" theme. It was based on the students saying they wanted to do more projects with slime or they like to make things out of mud. It sounds childish, but it's what the students wanted to do, and Fleming says the school developed learning activities around those themes.

5. Leverage STEM Program Supplies in Your Library Makerspace

Once the team finishes all of its research and planning, it's time to buy the supplies. One of her more successful ventures at New Milford High School was with the littleBits Arduino Coding Kit. Fleming's high school students beta tested the product and wound up writing code for learning environments for elementary school students. The high school students coded games and developed environments that let the elementary school students compose music and create digital art using the littleBits coding techniques.

Above all, Fleming stresses that it requires proper planning for a makerspace to succeed. Do the planning, and school officials will find that when it comes time to make purchases, they will have planned programs and bought equipment that students can put to the best use possible.

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How to Implement Library Makerspaces in STEM Programs

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What's the best way to define a makerspace? For Laura Fleming, library media specialist at New Milford High School in New Jersey, a library makerspace is a unique learning environment that encourages tinkering, play and open-ended exploration for all.

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STEAM

7 Tips for Planning a Makerspace

Districts with multiple makerspaces describe what works.

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.

1. Use Any Available Space

Almost any space in a school can be repurposed as a makerspace. Harmony Public Schools in Texas has created makerspaces in several of its schools. One merged two classrooms into a single space to house an physics lab together with a makerspace, while another did the same thing to create a hybrid engineering lab and makerspace.

Yet another school in the district converted a storage room into a library and makerspace. The school district is also repurposing a 4,000 square foot storage space next to its central office into a makerspace that will serve several schools. Some other districts have created makerspaces in school libraries.

"Any space can be turned into makerspace," said Mehmet Gokcek, the STEM/PBL curriculum developer at Harmony Public Schools.

2. Create an Active Space for Making

While a maker culture can exist in virtually any space, it thrives in an open and active learning environment. "It's better to have a large, open space for kids to work freely through guided inquiries," Yilmaz said. "Students are going to have different teams working on different projects, or in different phases of the same project, and a large open space really helps increase their productivity and creativity."

Winnetka Public Schools in Illinois changed out the furniture in all of its makerspaces to make it more flexible. "We have chairs on wheels and desks that flip up and nest, tables that flip and nest and can be rolled out of the way, or stacked so that you can just have a wide open space or you can have tables for kids to collaborate at," said Maureen Miller, director of technology.

3. Establish a Maker Culture

The space itself is not as important as establishing a maker mindset, according to Winnetka's Miller. "It's really just teaching kids that it's okay to tinker and play and to problem solve, and to build those other skills of collaboration and communication and critical thinking," Miller said. "The space helps, but it really doesn't matter."

Montour School District in McKees Rocks, PA has focused on establishing a maker culture and developed a purpose statement to help keep everybody on the same page. The district's purpose statement is "to establish and support a maker culture through 21st century resources linked to Montour's curriculum to provide students with authentic learning experiences," said Justin Aglio, director of innovation for the district.

A makerspace at Montour School District in McKees Rocks, PA. (Image courtesy of Justin Aglio.)

4. Visit Other Makerspaces

To get ideas for establishing a school makerspace or maker culture, Miller suggests visiting established makerspaces in other schools, universities, public libraries and museums. "There are so many different opportunities to see makerspaces in action now," she said.

The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh has a Makeshop where families can do woodworking, circuitry, textile processing such as sewing and weaving, and stop-motion animation. The Makeshop also lets visitors take apart recycled toys, electrical systems and small appliances.

When Montour School District was planning for its maker culture, two teachers spent an entire day at the Makeshop "to see what a makeshop looks like outside of a school, in a museum setting, and watch students interact with some of their stuff that they do," Aglio said.

5. Involve All Stakeholders

During the planning phase, it's a good idea to involve as many stakeholders as possible, including teachers, students, parents and administrators, according to Miller.

Montour School District brought in someone from the Children's Museum to speak with the PTA about makerspaces. Jennifer Kosarych, a kindergarten teacher in the district, said she thinks it's important to get student's input as well "to see what their interests are because we know that if they're interested in it, then they're more willing to try and be open to new things."

The planning process should alsoinclude "student choice and voice, as well as teacher choice and voice," said Harmony Public Schools' Gokcek.

Burak Yilmaz, project director at Harmony Public Schools, think districts should even consider involving local business and industry leaders in the planning process.

6. Choose Tools Based on Pedagogical Goals

The list of materials and equipment that students can use in a makerspace is virtually endless, including 3D printers and scanners, microprocessors, robots, power tools, sewing machines, construction toys, cardboard and duct tape.

Before purchasing anything, districts need to know what educational goals they want to meet. "One of our responsibilities at the district level is to make sure that all of the activities and projects available in our school makerspaces are aligned with the learning objectives and the standards expected by the state," Yilmaz said.

Algio describes the process as embedding the maker culture into the curriculum rather than layering it on top. When selecting equipment, Aglio and his team looked for things that teachers could easily embed within their curriculum, and that students could use. "Make sure that it's age appropriate," added Kosarych.

However, it's important to strike a balance between meeting standards and open inquiry, according to Gokcek. At Harmony Public Schools, students build projects with educational objectives embedded into them, "so it's guided, but not so much that students doesn't feel ownership of their own project," he said.

7. Start Small

Regardless of the space, equipment or goals of the makerspace, it's important to start small. "Pick one, two or three things, if that's all you can afford, and do those well," Miller said. "And then add more in each subsequent year."

Maker culture is very new to many teachers, and starting small and simple can help them make the transition. According to Kosarych, "by allowing the teachers to go in there and just let their kids explore, it's helping both the teachers and students get comfortable."

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at leilameyer@gmail.com.

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7 Tips for Planning a Makerspace -- THE Journal

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Districts with multiple makerspaces describe what works.

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9 Goals of a Successful School Makerspace

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9 Goals of a Successful School Makerspace

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To celebrate our first #FractusReads, we are are giving away a free copy of the brilliant Worlds of Making. To enter, simply Tweet or share this post on Facebook or Google+ using the hashtag #FractusReads. It's that easy!

For the first book in our #FractusReads series, we wanted to start with a book that not only comes highly recommended, but one that has also made its way to 'Best Seller' in STEM Education reading. Laura Fleming's practical and inspiring guide, Worlds of Making: Best Practices for Establishing a Makerspace for Your School is a must-read for any educator looking to improve or initiate a school makerspace.

While the book covers many important aspects of setting up a makerspace, from school culture to practical ideas and tips, today we want to focus on some of the learning goals Laura highlights. While it can be easy to get caught up in the gadgets and materials for making, Laura states that the overall objective should be to drive the Four Cs: creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration.

Schools are already filled with creativity. The challenge is effectively cultivating and harnessing it to its fullest. Laying a foundation for innovation will allow everyone to take full advantage of what a well-planned makerspace can provide. A simple makerspace that sparks the hearts and minds of students will invariably succeed whereas a fully adorned makerspace that lacks that spirit is certain to fail.

Broken down into nine very achievable targets, each of the below goals can help fence in and narrow maker activities to ensure that more than just play is happening in the space. While of course play should be encouraged, and is a hugely important ingredient to making, these nine goals will help you put together a school makerspace that is not only fun and enjoyable, but one that is deeply productive and meaningful.

School Makerspace Student Goals

1. Use a wide range of idea creation techniques - such as brainstorming

2. Create new and worthwhile ideas - both incremental and radical concepts

3. Elaborate, refine, analyze and evaluate their own ideas in order to improve and maximize creative efforts

4. Develop, implement, and communicate new ideas to others effectively

5. Be open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives; incorporate group input and feedback into the work

6. Demonstrate originality and inventiveness in work and understand the real-world limits to adopting new ideas

7. View failure as an opportunity to learn; understand that creativity and innovation are a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent mistakes

8. Implement innovations

9. Act on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contribution to the field in which the innovation will occur

What are the successes you are having with setting up a school makerspace? What kind of challenges have you encountered? Let us know your experiences in the comments below. And don't forget to share the post for your chance to win a free copy of Worlds of Making.
Feature image courtesy of Flickr, Waag Society.
Keep Reading and Learning

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9 Goals of a Successful School Makerspace - Fractus Learning

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To celebrate our first #FractusReads, we are are giving away a free copy of the brilliant Worlds of Making. To enter, simply Tweet or share this post on Facebook or Google+ using the hashtag #FractusReads. It's that easy!

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The philosophy of Educational Makerspaces

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The philosophy of Educational Makerspaces

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The philosophy of educational makerspaces

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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.

Get the FREE Makerspace Info Bundle

Build a simple circuit using a pizza box (no soldering required)

Create circuit tiles which are interchangeable blocks used to form different circuits.

Using a simple hobby motor and cardboard, you can make a frog robot that is very entertaining.

Learn how to make this simple foam boat with dc motor and homemade propeller.

These battery powered cars are super fun and can be made with a few basic parts.

Paper circuits are a really great way to learn the basics of circuits and electricity. Make light-up greeting card and more.

These bristlebots are a smaller version of the brushbot and use toothbrush heads and vibrating motors.

Make a flying airplane using cardboard, a coke bottle and a DC hobby motor. Really cool !

Create a vibrating and moving junkbot using everyday "junk" or items in your recycle bin.

Vibrobots are tiny robots powered by a vibrating motor. Design your own using scrap materials and spare parts.

Create this wobblebot and you will always have a best friend.

Make this super fast mini electric car using a 9v battery as the chassis. Experiment with designs to make it go faster.

Learn the basics of how a DC motor works by creating your own simple motor.

Make your own simple LED flashlight using popsicle sticks and copper tape. Learn how circuits and switches work.

Create this electric bottle car by reusing bottles and other recyclable materials.

This rubber band helicopter is simple and easy to create. Once you build one, you can experiment with other designs.

Marble runs are like an amusement park for marbles. Here are 10 marble runs you can create at your makerspace.

Create this simple hydraulic machine using a plastic syringe for the lift mechanism. Learn about a hydraulic system.

Using conductive and insulating dough, you can create squishy circuits that light-up, move and make noise.

This cardboard chair project is a great way to recycle and re-purpose cardboard into functional furniture.

These scribble bots are also known as scribble machines and are great for STEAM /Art activities.

Brushbots are a simple, fun type of robot that you can build out of arts and crafts materials.

Here are 3 simple STEM boats that don't need a DC motor. Learn how to make a putt-putt, paddle and balloon-powered boat.

Make your own cardboard hydraulic arm that focuses on the principles of hydraulic movements.

If you made one of these projects or are working on something else, tweet us at @Makerspaces_com

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25 Makerspace (STEM / STEAM) Projects For Kids | Makerspaces.com

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These STEM projects & activities for kids are perfect for the makerspace. Simple, easy and very cost effective. Make a car from cardboard or a boat from a soda bottle. Maker education is fun for all ages.

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Learning Problem Solving Growth Mindset in a Makerspace

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Learning Problem Solving Growth Mindset in a Makerspace

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Learning Problem Solving and Growth Mindset in a Makerspace

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How to Make a Low-Cost, Makerspace in a Box for Elementary Teachers & Parents1,880 viewsNov 10, 2020

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How to Make a Low-Cost, Makerspace in a Box for Elementary Teachers & Parents1,880 viewsNov 10, 2020

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DIY MINI MAKERSPACE | How to Make a Low-Cost, Makerspace in a Box for Elementary Teachers & Parents

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Every childhood deserves a makerspace | Vipul Redey | TEDxYouth@Colombo

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Every childhood deserves a makerspace | Vipul Redey | TEDxYouth@Colombo

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Every childhood deserves a makerspace | Vipul Redey | TEDxYouth@Colombo

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Modern STEM/Makerspace Design: High Impact Collaborative Spaces for FL Private and Charter Schools

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Modern STEM/Makerspace Design: High Impact Collaborative Spaces for FL Private and Charter Schools

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0:00 / 33:32•Watch full video

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Modern STEM/Makerspace Design: High Impact Collaborative Spaces for FL Private and Charter Schools

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Se how makerspaces in Eastern Carver County Schools are changing the way students learn STEM, coding, robotics and more.

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Andrew Goodin is Facilitator of the Makerspace at Grand Center Arts Academy in St. Louis, Missouri. More about Andrew Goodin: Andrew Goodin manages the GCAA Makerspace, a collaborative workshop in which students use their artistic abilities to solve real-world problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. He earned a B.S.

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Starting a School Makerspace from Scratch

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Starting a School Makerspace from Scratch

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Step 2: Get Others Involved

Start a steering committee for your makerspace by involving interested teachers and students. Include your committee in purchasing decisions, goal setting, workshop ideas, and even leading makerspace programming. Learn from other schools and students about what they do by reaching out with Skype or Google Hangouts.

If you can, reach out to the community and get parents and community members involved. You'll also engage students if you enlist mentor experts. Start by finding student experts in your school and around your community. Utilize Twitter or Skype in the Classroom to branch out. Our students love connecting with other maker students around the country, as well as maker experts like the inventors of Makey Makey.

Step 3: Purchasing Makerspace Resources

Here are three guidelines:

1. What purchases will give you the most bang for your buck? Will buying a 3D printer break your budget?

2. Write grants, ask your PTA for funds, or use crowdsource funding like Donors Choose or GoFundMe. You can sign up for monthly emails about grant opportunities from Mackin.

3. Ask for old electronics, popsicle sticks, balloons, old car toys, old electronic toys, wire cutters, old telephone wire, old tennis balls, etc. You'll find lots of great STEM lessons at past Google Maker Camps. Follow STEM accounts and other makerspaces on Instagram, and scour Pinterest for cheap ideas.

Step 4: Building a Community of Makers

Immerse your students in maker supplies. Just as surrounding kids with books motivates them to read, surrounding them with tinkering tools motivates them to create. You don't need a special room for your makerspace. All you need are maker resources, somewhere to store items, and a beginner's knowledge of how to use your resources.

Once I moved our makerspace materials from the back room into an easily accessible area behind our circulation desk and instituted a project shelf, our students started tinkering every day!

Step 5: Hosting Workshops and/or Design Challenges

One of the most important aspects of starting a makerspace is getting the pulse of your community. I have an "iWanna" box on the circulation desk, and the first successful design challenge at Lamar was born from a student idea that ended up there. That student wanted to create catapults, so we ended up throwing down a Catapult Challenge to Diana Rendina's class in Florida, and they in turn challenged us to create games in Scratch and invent controllers with Makey Makey.

Students also love tinkering with Snap Circuits, littleBits, Knex, Lego, Makey Makey, Sphero, and Scratch during our maker mornings (see a resource list here) -- although just owning all of these resources is not going to ensure that making leads to learning. Let kids tinker and play, but eventually, you'll have to guide their learning by creating design challenges.

Design challenges teach problem solving and creative thinking, and they're one of the easiest ways to create a community of makers. Makey Makey co-inventor Jay Silver declares, "Design challenges are so important. . . it introduces time limits, a focused theme, and ends with a show and tell." You can show off student creations by hosting a mini-maker faire, connecting your makers with other students via Skype and Twitter chats, or showcase projects on other social media.

Here are some design challenge ideas that worked for me:

Step 6: Integrating Maker Education Into the Curriculum

While tinkering can lead to learning, remember that makerspace programming can also support classroom curriculum. Here are some ideas for incorporating making in the classroom:

What are some goals that you'd like to set for your school makerspace? Have you incorporated any great makerspace lessons in classrooms at your school? Please share in the comments section of this post.

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Starting a School Makerspace from Scratch

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Start a steering committee for your makerspace by involving interested teachers and students. Include your committee in purchasing decisions, goal setting, workshop ideas, and even leading makerspace programming. Learn from other schools and students about what they do by reaching out with Skype or Google Hangouts.

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Three Little pigs Stem Activity(Info Center)

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Three Little pigs Stem Activity(Info Center)

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After we read a story “Three Little pigs” students had worked on 3 different challenges: building a house out of straws, sticks (toothpicks and playdough) and bricks (LEGO bricks), then compared the structures to see which one was the strongest.

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Students during recess time practice coding

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Students created designs by choosing a task card on the Lego wall.

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Students practiced their typing skills during recess

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Using the design thinking process students were able to find a solution to a problem of their choice

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Grade 4 - Think Tech "Sharing the Planet " Minecraft education edition 

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Grade 4 - Think Tech "Sharing the Planet " Minecraft education edition 

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Grade 4 learners were introduced to Minecraft education edition
Learners reflected on their gaming experience with Minecraft and why and how to use Minecraft to achieve our results.

In this theme, learners created a zoo that have three different biomes to reflect on their inquiry planner.
Grade 4 learners built the zoo outline, entrance, ticket box, restrooms , cafe and different biomes.

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Week 9 – Oct.30th to Nov 3rd Minecraft pt1

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Grade 4 learners were introduced to Minecraft education edition
Learners reflected on their gaming experience with Minecraft and why and how to use Minecraft to achieve our results.

In this theme, learners created a zoo that have three different biomes to reflect on their inquiry planner.
Grade 4 learners built the zoo outline, entrance, ticket box, restrooms , cafe and different biomes.

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Grade 4 - Think Tech "Sharing the Planet" Minecraft education edition  

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Grade 4 - Think Tech "Sharing the Planet" Minecraft education edition  

# data[].attributes.body
Grade 4 learners were introduced to Minecraft education edition
Learners reflected on their gaming experience with Minecraft and why and how to use Minecraft to achieve our results.

In this theme, learners created a zoo that have three different biomes to reflect on their inquiry planner.
Grade 4 learners built the zoo outline, entrance, ticket box, restrooms , cafe and different biomes.

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Grade 4 - Think Tech Minecraft education edition 

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Grade 4 - Think Tech Minecraft education edition 

# data[].attributes.body
Grade 4 learners were introduced to Minecraft education edition
Learners reflected on their gaming experience with Minecraft and why and how to use Minecraft to achieve our results.

In this theme, learners created a zoo that have three different biomes to reflect on their inquiry planner.
Grade 4 learners built the zoo outline, entrance, ticket box, restrooms , cafe and different biomes.

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Grade 5 - Think Tech "Sharing the Planet" Minecraft education edition 

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Grade 5 - Think Tech "Sharing the Planet" Minecraft education edition 

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Grade 5 learners were introduced to the Minecraft education edition
Learners reflected on their gaming experience with Minecraft and why and how to use Minecraft to achieve our results.

In the theme sharing the planet , learners created a sustainable building that is powered by the renewable energy.

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Week 12 - Nov 20th to Nov 24th Minecraft Part 1

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Grade 5 - Think Tech "Sharing the Planet" Minecraft education edition

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Grade 5 - Think Tech "Sharing the Planet" Minecraft education edition

# data[].attributes.body
Grade 5 learners were introduced to the Minecraft education edition
Learners reflected on their gaming experience with Minecraft and why and how to use Minecraft to achieve our results.

In the theme sharing the planet , learners created a sustainable building that is powered by the renewable energy.

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Grade 5 - Minecraft "Renewable energy " Part 1 

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Grade 5 - Minecraft "Renewable energy " Part 1 

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Grade 5 - Minecraft Renewable energy "Part 2 "

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Grade 5 - Minecraft Renewable energy "Part 2 "

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Grade 5 learners used Lego Wedo 2 kits to build a Race car as a group.
Grade 5 learners integrated coding with physics (Speed, velocity, and friction) to be able to compete who can reach the FINISH line first!

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Grade 5 learners used Lego Wedo 2 kits to build a Race car as a group.
Grade 5 learners integrated coding with physics (Speed, velocity, and friction) to be able to compete who can reach the FINISH line first!

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Curriculum for Coding & Robotics Grade 1 to Grade 5 updated (2)

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Grade 2 unit How the world Works : Forces and Motion: Design Thinking Roller Coaster Challenge 

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Grade 2 unit How the world Works : Forces and Motion: Design Thinking Roller Coaster Challenge 

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Students inquired in how gravity works, and they created a roller coaster to demonstrate how gravity affects moving objects. They played the role of an engineer who was hired to build a roller coaster for a new amusement park. They had to make sure that their ride is safe as well as thrilling, wild fun and adventures. They applied the design thinking model to create their roller coaster. Students developed their communication and social skills where they reflected positive attitude while working together. They effectively communicated their ideas and designed solutions. They faced several problems while designing their roller coaster but they were able to solve the problems brilliantly.

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Selected students from grade 4 participated in the Junior First LEGO league in Jordan.
The selected students were divided into two teams.
Each team must search, build, and code a robot to perform shipping and how it can affect the environment related to the competition theme "Crago Connect"

Jordan Armex office invited the students to learn more about shipping, cargo, and how it will reach customers in Jordan and worldwide.

Students presented their environment and used WEDO 2 LEGO Kit to build different robots (Truck, Car, and Airplane) to showcase the process of shipping that starts with a customer, and how the shipment will be checked and delivered to the customer.

The competition judges assess the students based on a shared rubric that includes questions related to cost, environment, teamwork, and coding.
Each team won an award (Inquiring Minds and Explosive Ideas)