MOW - Makerspace on Wheels

Make magazine (both the hard copy and the digital version are one of my favourite reads when I am lost for something to do. This article titled Makerspace in the classroom got me thinking.

Many schools are now in the process of allocating a space in their school to a Makerspace. This reminds me of the situation we were in with computer labs 10-20 years ago - the stand alone room where teachers would take their students to 'do' computing or ICT. Should we be going down this path, should we be trying to embed Makerspaces in each and every learning space (as another environment in which children can learn), or is having the stand-alone space an essential stage for moving education to embedding more of a making culture.

Currently, thanks to a small and very dedicated group of year 7 and 8 students (age: 11-13 years) who presented the the Principal, including all of the Why, How and What we have a school Makerspace. This is a stand alone space, and at this time this is the correct choice for the school. We could have gone down the line of trying to have a Makerspace trolley (maybe we could call it a MOW = Makerspace on Wheels) in each classroom but without teachers understanding the Why or the How around Makerspaces I imagine they would just create clutter in the corner of most teachers rooms.

With out current standalone Makerspace the students run two lunchtime events each week (I am avoiding calling them classes) where they have so far covered paper circuits, lego building and squishy circuits. As students return to their classes after lunch and share what they have made teachers are showing increased interest in what goes on in the Makerspace, there is some expression from teachers of wanting to learning more about what goes on in a Makerspace and how they can use this as part of the curriculum. I am hoping this will then lead to teachers wanting to be able to have some of the Makerspace 'stuff' in their classrooms so they are available to children as part of their everyday learning.