Makerspaces

  • makerspace startup guide

    California Community Colleges Publish Makerspace Startup Guide

    A new resource from the California Community Colleges provides a step-by-step guide to building makerspaces on campus, from initial planning stages to facility design, pilot programs and community outreach. The free Makerspace Startup Guide comes out of the C.C.C. Maker initiative, a project funded by the California Community College Chancellor's Office, Workforce and Economic Division.

  • How the Library Helps Integrate Making Across the Curriculum

    A Title I STEAM-focused school connects students to new ideas with tech tools that help construct their problem-solving skills all in one place. 

  • At Skill Station 4, students unbox and set up a Makey Makey. Students then experiment with this tool testing conductive and non-conductive materials. Next, students are presented with a challenge for Days 2 and 3 to create a game controller utilizing the Makey Makey using craft supplies and found objects to the game that they developed using Scratch at Skill Station 3. The Makey Makey controller emulated the controller found in their game — up, down, right and left arrows, space and click.

    Making Space for Makerspaces

    Pop-up makerspaces have allowed project-based learning to grow and blossom. Using higher-order thinking skills, students are given the opportunity to problem-solve, ask questions, think, create, innovate, fix and revise. A new set of learning theories have popped up as well. Innovation and design theory have become a way of learning, with entrepreneurship at the helm.

  • At Skill Station 4, students unbox and set up a Makey Makey. Students then experiment with this tool testing conductive and non-conductive materials. Next, students are presented with a challenge for Days 2 and 3 to create a game controller utilizing the Makey Makey using craft supplies and found objects to the game that they developed using Scratch at Skill Station 3. The Makey Makey controller emulated the controller found in their game — up, down, right and left arrows, space and click.

    Making Space for Makerspaces

    Pop-up makerspaces have allowed project-based learning to grow and blossom. Using higher-order thinking skills, students are given the opportunity to problem-solve, ask questions, think, create, innovate, fix and revise. A new set of learning theories have popped up as well. Innovation and design theory have become a way of learning, with entrepreneurship at the helm.

  • Tech College to Expand Maker Facilities for Under-represented Engineering Students

    A technical college in Washington has received National Science Foundation funding to expand its maker-based learning program. Bellingham Technical College received a $649,480 "Scholarships in STEM" grant to support the college's project, "Building Inclusive Maker Communities for Engineering Technology Students." The program will connect three cohorts of 12 low-income, academically talented students over the course of five years, who will participate in multi-year, extended projects.

  • Partnership Brings Robots to Community College and Local Businesses

    Central New Mexico Community College has partnered with a local startup to help bring collaborative robots, or cobots, to businesses in the area. Cobots are designed to work with human beings on a range of repetitive or dangerous tasks, such as screw driving, painting or manufacturing tasks. The devices are also designed to be relatively inexpensive and to be repurposed from one task to another without complicated coding.

  • high school virtual reality lab

    VR Lab!

    When Tampa Preparatory School launched decided to turn a closet into a virtual reality lab, they had no idea how far their students would run with the tools....

  • California Community Colleges Mass-Producing Student Makers

    Six months after the official launch of a $17 million makerspace initiative, California community colleges are mass-producing student makers. The "CCC Maker Initiative" has funded makerspaces in 24 campuses with the intent of offering educational activities that will help students prepare for their careers. Each college received implementation grants of between $100,000 and $350,000, renewable for a second year.

  • Carnegie Mellon Researchers Turn Desktop 3D Printer into Bioprinter for Under $500

    Carnegie Mellon Researchers Turn Desktop 3D Printer into Bioprinter for Under $500

    In addition to improvements in cost, the device reportedly allows for larger-scale printing and greater precision than many commercially available bioprinters. The team released its research under a Creative Commons license to encourage others to build their own as well.

  • Carnegie Mellon Researchers Turn Desktop 3D Printer into Bioprinter for Under $500

    Carnegie Mellon Releases Design for Sub-$500 Bioprinter under Creative Commons License

    In addition to improvements in cost, the device reportedly allows for larger-scale printing and greater precision than many commercially available bioprinters. The team released its research under a Creative Commons license to encourage others to build their own as well.