Makerspace stakeholder meeting June 5

Please RSVP Strahan@wcu.edu if interesting in attending a gathering of Jackson County, NC folks interested in the creation of county makerspaces. The meeting with be held on the WCU campus from 3-5 pm.

Makerspace Planning Guides

How many planning guides are out there?  Here's two and news of more.

Maker Media (2013). Makerspace Playbook: School Edition. 84 pages, almost 30 in the Resources appendix.
http://makerspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/MakerspacePlaybook-Feb2013.pdf

New York Hall of Science (2013). A Blueprint: Maker programs for Youth
 Designing, Implementing, Running a makerspace program. Great Appendix: Sample Budgets; Safety guidelines; Maker Coach; Sample projects. 40 pages.
 http://nysci.org/wp-content/uploads/nysci_maker_blueprint.pdf

It was announced on May 8, 2014 that a big planning guide project is underway. "The Institute of Museum and Library Services (the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums) announced a $425,000 initiative with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP) to build the capacity of libraries and museums to develop effective makerspaces and programs. With $425,192 in IMLS support, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is working in conjunction with the North Carolina State University Library, Exploratorium, Chicago Public Library, and Maker Education Initiative, among others, on the project.  The project aims to provide museum and library professionals with a suite of tools and resources, hands-on professional development experiences, and a community of practice. The project’s website and online publication will share the framework, makerspace studies, research and evaluation reports, as well as resources for field wide replication."
http://www.imls.gov/imls_and_children’s_museum_of_pittsburgh_to_partner_on_makerspaces_project.aspx

Makerspace - oasis for self-direction and rejuvenation center for learning

"The Makerspace in the library is an oasis for student self-directed learning. It serves as a rejuvenation center for inspiring of love for both formal and informal learning. In my opinion, a space like this should be a priority for all schools in the twenty-first century; and you do not have to break the bank to create one."

Eric Sheninger, award-winning Principal at New Milford High School, Bergen County, NJ.

http://corwin-connect.com/2014/05/whats-makerspace/

Albemarle Schools deep into makerspace

Here are two stories from up the coast in Virginia, of schools in Albemarle County that have been building a Project Based Learning curriculum for 12+ years and then did an exponential advance into the makerspace movement.

http://www.nbc29.com/story/25226286/high-school-students-show-off-3d-scanner-at-tom-tom-fest, a focused story of their makerspace festival and student creativity from their makerspace.

http://www.nbc29.com/story/24201428/albemarle-schools-maker-spaces-program-gets-national-attention, this is the bigger Albemarle story, of getting national attention, of administrators from the University of North Carolina Greensboro and elsewhere stopping by the school to see how they can use the program at the college level.

""We're interested in re-envisioning our teaching resources center, our TRC, into more of a 21st century learning commons complete with Maker Space," said Karen Wixson, the dean of the school of education at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. "It's exciting that they see this space and what's done here as sort of the center of the school and that it's used by many different teachers in many different subject areas," she said. "They're more collaborative they're more engaged, so that's what excites me."Thursday, administrators from Harvard will be touring Monticello High School to learn more about Maker Spaces. Some students will also be presenting their work to members of the Smithsonian Thursday as well.”

P.S. We need more stories of makerspace developments in communities.