School-based and Museum-based Makerspaces

Abstract

Making and makerspaces, as a means and setting for creation, have grown in popularity in recent years. As makerspaces appear in schools and community educational settings, the Maker Movement’s prominence and influence on education grows. As different people have served as the developers and facilitators for these makerspaces, no makerspace is the same, because the intentions and values of these developers and facilitators differ. Studying the effects of these different intentions and values on the decisions made by the facilitators has allowed me to research the theories surrounding the Maker Movement in actual practice. My research contributes to the conversation around makerspaces by providing a real-world example of the application of elements of the Maker Movement being applied in both a school-based and museum-based setting. The question I aim to answer is: how do makerspace facilitators design an environment, transfer a philosophy of making, and construct a curriculum and pedagogy that engages children in making and for what purposes? My research and observations led to a discussion and recommendations for practice that revolve around equipping makers with the ability to make choices as well as projects by promoting a maker mindset, designing an environment, and enacting a pedagogy that centers making as learning.