Make, Design, Create, Innovate!
What is Maker Education?
A makerspace is a special place where students can go to think, wonder, and collaborate with each other while inventing new ideas. Students are encouraged to use the Engineering Design Process to solve problems and to explore content from all subject areas by designing and creating different products. It consists of everything from robotics to cardboard construction, basic circuitry to art supplies, and computer coding to recyclable donations. Our makerspace will have tools and resources available to students and teachers that will make innovative instruction even more accessible at Abingdon.
This video shows one way students were encouraged to use maker education to learn several advanced concepts in both science and math.
This innovative approach can help students find a sense of purpose in the overall learning process and encourages them to develop invaluable skills that will be required in their future.
Why Create a Makerspace at Abingdon?
Maker education helps us bring STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) integration to life. Through the hands-on application of rich content, students learn and explore the APS curriculum while developing necessary 21st century skills. Our vision is that the “makerspace” room is actually only one part of a larger mobile environment that can be used in any classroom, creating a place for students to experiment, discover, model, invent, and design with the support of the tools and technology not typically found in an elementary school.
How Can You Support Us?
Abingdon is creating a makerspace and to keep up with the needs of our students it could really use the support of the community! There are different ways that you can help bring this innovative, design-thinking instruction to the students in our school. We are accepting donations of clean recyclables. As the final construction takes place, we are a bit limited on storage space in our new building. We would still love to collect clean cardboard and plastic recyclables (anything the size of a shoebox or smaller for now). No glass, please. Helpful items might be jewelry boxes, egg cartons, cardboard tubes, small plastic containers, etc. Also, if you have unused craft items such as ribbon or scrapbooking decorations we would gladly take those. Donations of gently used legos are greatly appreciated as well.
Consider donating something from our Amazon Wishlist:
An Educator Can Dream: Makerspace List Link: http://a.co/9xLiThi
Still Want More Information?
Watch the trailer for ‘Most Likely to Succeed’, a documentary on education in the 21st century. You will see a few examples of hands-on, project-based, student-driven, collaborative learning.