MakerSpace Exploration - Under Construction
A Makerspace is a place to create solutions. Whether your dilemma is to find a better way to filter water or to create an alarm for your bedroom door to keep your younger brother from entering your room. Makerspaces provide the tools, space and often likeminded Makers who want to solve problems or get creative. At Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School students have access to our makerspace which we call M@H, the Makerspace at Henderson.
Maker Movement
The maker movement is a technology-based extension of Do It Yourself (DIY) culture that intersects with hacker culture and results in the creation of new devices as well as tinkering with existing ones. The maker movement or maker culture generally supports open-source or free to use software. typical interests enjoyed by the makers or people who's hobbies include making things include electronics, robotics, 3-D printing, as well as more traditional activities such as metalworking, woodworking, and traditional arts and crafts.
The subculture encourages re-use of designs published on websites or in maker-oriented publications. A few popular Maker Websites are Makezine.com , Instructables.com and Thingiverse.com. Makers also hold and attend Maker Faires which are festivals where Makers and Hobbyist share their latest Creations. Through the sharing of ideas there is a strong focus on using and learning practical skills and applying them to real world problems.
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No only are these websites great resources for sharing ideas,
they also often hold great contest and free online classes |
Getting Started
The ultimate goal of a makerspace is to solve problems, but we don't always have a problem or challenge in front of us. Exploration is a great time to have fun while learning the skills you will need for larger problem solving. To get started in a makerspace you should first become familiar with the space, the tools available to you and the guidelines for use. To learn about the Makerspace at Henderson, available tools and guidelines for using those tools, go to http://mehmakerspace.weebly.com/ or click the button below.
Creating Solutions
We couldn't possibly list every tool that a maker might use or need, but we do have a few staple items in our makerspace that we will explore in this course. First is the MakeyMakey