Makerspaces for students

"A Makerspace is a metaphor for a unique learning environment that encourages tinkering, play, and open-ended exploration for all."

--Laura Fleming 

author of Worlds of Making

Children are naturally creative and inquisitive; if you think about it, play and maker spaces coincide. Whether creating, exploring, or inventing, even with failure, you are learning. When children play, they also learn by using their imagination for building, make-believe, art, science, even taking turns, teamwork, etc. It is really as grade levels rise, there is less and less play and more of a "traditional" education. Even older students benefit from play as much as younger students do. It would be highly beneficial to give students a break from traditional classroom work and allow them to create, build, and explore. 

I remember in High school, during our free period, students were just left to hang out in the cafeteria or do homework in the library. I took art in high school, and we weren’t allowed in the class during a free period if there was a class in session. Every time I had a free period, there was always a class in the room, so I always found myself in the cafeteria, or at times, I would just leave the campus and come back at the end of that free period. There wasn’t a makerspace in the school library. Still, if there was, I would have rather been in the library creating, playing, and inventing anything during my free period instead of hanging out in the cafeteria. 

In Middle school, we had a learning lab, which was like a study hall. There were a lot of restrictions; we had to do homework or read, and depending on your teacher, you may have yet to be able to talk to your peers. Even with a break during the school day, we still had to do work that wasn't much of a break.

In Elementary schools, having a maker space in the classroom or a mobile makerspace makes more sense. Since elementary students don't get a study hall, a maker space could be implemented as part of a daily or weekly lesson.  

Even preschool children can benefit from a makerspace. Children can turn a cardboard box into a car, a spaceship, a place to sit and draw, or even a play house. Place an array of supplies in front of them, and you'll see where their minds lead them. If a toy gets stuck in a tight spot, let the children figure out how to get the toy out. They may change their process, but eventually, that toy will be free.

Articles about makerspaces and schools:

Makerspace Manual for K-12 Schools

Tips and Ideas for creating a makerspace in the classroom

Makerspaces: A tool that can transform learning

A few years back, I bought shelves, and my daughter wanted to keep the boxes they came in so she could make a house. We made a house with two windows, and under those two windows, we added a planter box. She wanted a place to put the flowers that she made. Inside the little house, we strung lights up, and she brought her stuffies, blankets, and pillows so she could have a cozy corner. Another time, we turned the box her mattress came in into a spaceship. She always asks me to save the boxes that packages come in because she wants to build something. It is fascinating when adults can see a box, but children will see something else.

Fun Children's books about making:

Boxitects 
by Kim Smith

Doll-E 1.0
By Shanda McCloskey