A Librarian's Guide to Makerspaces: 16 Resources "There were more than 135 million adult makers, more than half of the total adult population in America, in 2015." What is a makerspace? You’ve no doubt been hearing that word more than a few times over the past several years. Makerspaces, also called hackerspaces, hackspaces, and fablabs, are collaborative spaces where people gather to get creative with DIY projects, invent new ones, and share ideas. Since the first official makerspace convened six years ago in a library in upstate New York, libraries have remained an ideal setting for makerspace events across the country. There were more than 135 million adult makers, more than half of the total adult population in America, in 2015. Articles & Blog Posts on Makerspaces 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) 12.) Maker Faire Makerspaces Directories 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) Revitalizing Community Spaces One could argue that the phenomenon of makerspaces has led to a revitalization and reimagining of libraries in a digital world.
Hands-On Science Activities for After School Play | Exploratorium Introduction An introduction to the stripped-down motor, a simple and easy-to-make version of the electric motors found in toys, tools, and appliances. • Download activity instructions• Download concept map• Going further Recommend the Stripped-Down Motor activity to a friend Explore more things to make and do Bee Hummer | Bottle Blast Off | Color Chromatography | Cuica | Cup Speaker | Ice Balloons Jitterbug | Sound Sandwich | Stripped Down Motor | Water Bottle Membranophone | Whirling Watcher Educator Resources | Privacy Policy | Use Policy | About Digital Library Afterschool | About the Exploratorium © 2007 - 2015 Exploratorium | The museum of science, art and human perception.
A guide to programming languages for coding in class So, you want to introduce coding in class but with so many programming languages out there how do you choose the one that’s right for you and your students? We asked Associate Professor James Curran, Director of the Australian Computing Academy and co-founder of Grok Learning, for help. Since 1954, when IBM’s John Backus invented the first widely-used programming language, FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslation) for scientific and engineering calculations, many weird and wonderful programming languages have been developed for coding. As a teacher, how do you choose which programming language is right for you and your students? But first, what is a programming language? A programming language is a language for describing instructions that a computer can follow to solve a problem. Compared with our brains, the CPU in a computer can only perform simple instructions, but it can do them very fast. Coding in the Australian Curriculum Nearly all popular languages provide the bolded concepts above.
Snap Circuits Review and a DIY Spin Art Machine | TinkerLab Snap Circuits Review If you’re in the market for a toy for a child who likes to build things, tinker, or is curious about how things work, Snap Circuits SC-300 tops my list. We’ve had this toy for a year and I just bought a BUNCH of them for friends because I like it so much. This is not a sponsored post — i’m just a happy customer who wants to spread the word. With Snap Circuits, those of us with no electronics background or understanding can easily build a light switch that works or a doorbell that rings. The instruction manual is easy to understand, and I noticed that after we were halfway through our first project together, my five-year old figured out how to finish the assembly on her own. What kind of toys should I buy? When it comes to buying toys for my children, there are three questions that I like to ask: Is it a learning tool? In case you’re wondering, here are some curiosity and creativity-building toys that we’re also crazy about: And now, on to the project… Success!
Tinkering Space Interview: Megan Schiller Today I’m joined by Megan Schiller of The Art Pantry, as part of our ongoing series of inspiring conversations that center on how to set up creativity hubs, or tinkerspaces. If you’re scratching your head because you can’t figure out where to put your child’s art materials, want to turn your laundry room into an art zone, or tend to shift furniture to make room for creative supplies, these interviews are sure to give you food for thought. Megan Schiller is a creative parent with an impressive background in art education, who now runs an amazing online kid-friendly art store called The Art Pantry where she also consults families on how to set up their very own Art Pantry (check out her very generous giveaway at the end of this post). I’ve drooled over pictures of Megan’s child-friendly tinkering space in her Instagram feed and also on her blog, and I asked her if she’d be so kind to share it with us today. Yay! We’re in for treat. Can you tell us about your family? Great question!
library makers The Hole in the Wall Project and the Power of Self-Organized Learning In early 1999, some colleagues and I sunk a computer into the opening of a wall near our office in Kalkaji, New Delhi. The area was located in an expansive slum, with desperately poor people struggling to survive. The screen was visible from the street, and the PC was available to anyone who passed by. The computer had online access and a number of programs that could be used, but no instructions were given for its use. What happened next astonished us. View Sugata Mitra's TED Talk We left the PC where it was, available to everyone on the street, and within six months the children of the neighborhood had learned all the mouse operations, could open and close programs, and were going online to download games, music and videos. Interestingly, they described the computer in their own terms, often coining words to indicate what they saw on the screen. Over the next decade we did extensive research in self-directed learning, in many places and through many cultures. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
STEM Activity Challenge Bui... by Teachers Are Terrific Are you ready for a Ferris Wheel STEM challenge? Here’s the second challenge of a summer fun series to get ready for back to school time. Kids love this challenge no matter what time of year it is! Note: This challenge is available in a money-saving bundle. In this challenge students will be using craft sticks and glue to make a spinning Ferris Wheel. This challenge is from my STEM by the Month collection. You will need supplies in addition to this package. The package specifically includes: cover, teacher background, materials and preparation page, 8 pages of teacher directions, a constraints list, 3 pages of photographs, one extra Hints page, student lab sheet –with sample answers, an extra page of Ferris wheel information, a scoring rubric, and a Terms of Use page. This challenge will need 1-2 class sessions (1-2 hours) to complete. This challenge works perfectly with another summer fun challenge:Build a Water SlideBuild a Roller Coaster
RAFT Bay Area - Resource Area For Teaching RAFT Needs Your Support Join RAFT and Silicon Valley Community Foundation for Silicon Valley Gives, a one-day event to bring community and nonprofits together in a big way. Donations will be matched 1:1, $10 becomes $20! Read More It’s a day of unprecedented online giving on May 6th. Donate Now Join RAFT at Santana Row on May 6 Rosie McCann’s Pub & Restaurant, 4:00-8:00pm (a portion of sales will be donated to RAFT) Don’t miss the opportunity to see how commonly used materials can become engaging learning experiences. Renovated Learning | Building a culture of creativity and discovery in education Organized Chaos: 1-5th Grades -- Stop Motion Animation (Week 1) I have always wanted to do a stop motion animation project with students but was overwhelmed the the amount of equipment I would need -- cameras, tripods, computers, computer software, a computer lab.... times however many groups I would have. Then came iPads and iPad apps. Sometime during the summer or fall I found an app called 'Stop Motion'. It's a .99 cent app that is super user friendly that creates stop motion animation -- you can do all sorts of things directly in this app to have a full video of awesomeness. Now that I found the app I just needed enough iPads - which was almost as overwhelming as needing ALL the extra equipment. Lucky for me our building purchased a few iPads for teacher/student use. I waited. May came and suddenly it was time to load up the iPads with Stop Motion and pray to the art teaching gods that my lesson plan would work. The week before I drew out some backgrounds on some old file folders and asked students to color them when they were finished with work.