Makerspaces on the Move!

 I was really excited for this week's focus on makerspaces. Currently, my school's library does not have a makerspace, but we have a lot of student interest for starting one. One of the barriers to this is the physical layout of our library - even though our school was built just four years ago, our library is much smaller than it was originally supposed to be. 

That's where a blog post from Scholastic EDU comes in (https://edublog.scholastic.com/). The post was written by Tamika Brown, School Library Journal's School Librarian of the Year for 2017. The blog post pairs up with an episode of the School Librarian's United podcast featuring Brown (https://schoollibrariansunited.libsyn.com/building-bridges-with-a-connected-makerspace). Brown goes into depth about the possibilities using a mobile makerspace can create within a school community. A lot of what she discusses in the podcast episode as well as her blog post really brought me back to Lauren Britton's article from Library Journal on makerspaces being used for creation, not just consumption. 

Brown, 2018

Britton states that "Maker space—or, more specifically, the act of making—encourages and gives people permission to tinker, hack, remake, and perhaps even change society" (2012). In Brown's blog post, she talks about the barriers present when trying to give 100% of the school population access to a makerspace - both the physical space and the experience. Giving her students the opportunity to engage in making, as Britton discusses, is a big part of why she decided to create a mobile makerspace which can meet students and teachers where they are in the building. She does mention that students are less afraid of messing up or failing in the library, as opposed to a classroom, which again matches up with how Britton explains the importance of library based makerspaces. Her enthusiasm for makerspaces is obvious - even in a less than 30 second clip Brown posted to YouTube.

In her blog post (https://edublog.scholastic.com/post/creating-mobile-classroom-makerspace-library-program), Brown goes through five important things to think about when creating a makerspace - especially a mobile one. She discusses funding, voice and choice, organization, scheduling, and vendors/wishlist. I love how a big part of these sections is related to library advocacy and how she uses social media to make sure community stakeholders are aware of how the mobile makerspaces are being used and what a difference they are making with students. The way she has thought through each component and use of the mobile makerspaces shows care and a deep understanding of how makerspaces support teachers and students. Much of her advice is also supported in the Makerspace Playbook School Edition from Make (https://makered.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Makerspace-Playbook-Feb-2013.pdf).

Recognizing how to create a mobile space which can become a pop-up makerspace in a classroom and help to replicate a library experience is something to be investigated further, especially if your physical library space does not have a ton of flexibility, like mine. I do recommend also listening to the podcast episode to hear Brown talk more about how she uses her mobile makerspaces. It and her blog post made me feel like makerspaces can be a lot more approachable with the right plan of action.

If you are interested in the idea of a mobile makerspace, Tamiko Brown has also worked with Follett to create and curate collections of mobile makerspace kits: https://www.titlewave.com/main/makerspace.

https://www.titlewave.com/main/makerspace

References:

Britton, L. (2012, October 1). The makings of maker spaces, part 1: Space for creation, not just consumption. The Digital Shift. Retrieved March 27, 2022, from http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/10/public-services/the-makings-of-maker-spaces-part-1-space-for-creation-not-just-consumption/

Brown, T. (2018, February 1). Creating a mobile classroom makerspace library program | EDU. Scholastic EDU. Retrieved March 27, 2022, from https://edublog.scholastic.com/post/creating-mobile-classroom-makerspace-library-program

Brown, T. [Tamiko Brown]. (2018, March 3). Makerspace = student innovation [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQrDwu7O8M8

Harmon, A. (Host). (2020, January 26). Building bridges with a connected makerspace (No. 58) [Audio 

             podcast episode]. In School Librarians United. https://schoollibrariansunited.libsyn.com/building-

            bridges-with-a-connected-makerspace

Maker Media. (2013). Makerspace playbook: School edition (Spring ed.). Maker Media. https://makered.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Makerspace-Playbook-Feb-2013.pdf