LEGO Makerspace Idea

While in Chicago, we stopped by the Chicago Architecture Foundation and discovered the Chicago Model and the LEGO Design Studio, where families can build a representation of a current architectural piece, or create an original design.  While my husband and daughter sat down to build, I started taking pictures, thinking this would be a great addition to my Makerspace.  While the exhibit featured white architectural LEGO pieces exclusively, I think it would be feasible to use whatever color of LEGO pieces you have available.    

The exhibit featured pictures of famous architectural buildings in Chicago that visitors could replicate.  In a Makerspace, you could display pictures of famous buildings from around the world for students to reproduce.

Santa Fe Building

Other visitors had created original designs to be left on display, including buildings, boats, dragons, and furniture.  As students build pieces in your Makerspace, you could display them as inspiration for other students.

Building with lots of windows

Boat and Buildings

Pianos

Star Wars Pieces 

In one section of the Design Studio, visitors could add to the "growing city" by drawing a building on a long piece of paper that covered a section of the wall.  This would be another great thing to add to a Makerspace ~ either a paper version, a LEGO version, or a cardboard/recycled materials version.  Students could work collaboratively to build a replica of the city you reside in, a city you are studying, a city from an historical time, or an "ideal city" your students imagine.  The additional prompt of "What does every good city need?" can get your students thinking beyond buildings to parks, roads, transportation, and infrastructure.

I love to gather ideas from places I visit.  Chicago has provided a lot of inspiration for me this past week.  Where have you been inspired for your Makerspace?

Rain Barrels and Trash Cans

Last week my daughter attended a STEM camp at Loyola University in Chicago.  Each day we stopped in the lobby of the Institute of Environmental Sustainability building, where we saw these rain barrels:

While it would be neat to make and decorate a rain barrel as a class, it might not be financially feasible, depending on your classroom budget and access to materials.  Another environmental awareness option could be trash cans.  In Missouri, the Department of Conservation offers the "No More Trash" Contest to encourage students to fight litter.  Classes decorate a thematic trash can and enter it in the contest.  Check out the 2016 winning classes here.  

I think a school building could also have a trash can decorating contest to encourage students to reduce, reuse, and recycle.  It could be held at the beginning of the school year, or in conjunction with Earth Day in April.  It could certainly be a Makerspace-friendly project, where students could repurpose materials to creatively decorate the trash cans.

At an elementary building where I taught, one of the 7 Habits Leadership Groups collected paper recycling from each classroom once a week as part of their environment project. Classes who recycled correctly were awarded student-made badges for their recycling bins.  It was a win-win situation for the students, teachers, and custodial staff.

What ideas do you have to promote environmental awareness with students?

Innovation Infographics

Last week my daughter attended a STEM camp at Loyola University in Chicago.  As we walked through the Lake Shore Campus, we found many signs that described the landscaping design.  I plan on sharing these examples with my students during Innovation Hour.  They are eye-friendly infographics that explain in clear language the thought process that went into an eco-friendly design.

As innovators, we want our work to begin with empathy.   Students need to understand the audience for whom they are designing, while also considering the impact on plants, animals, and the environment.

Reading these signs made me wonder what impact our decades-old school buildings have on the environment.  What steps could we take as a class to improve the environmental impact of the current building design?  Are we affecting plants, wildlife, or the air quality in our neighborhoods?  These questions would be great ones to pose and address as part of an environmental study PBL or as part of an independent study project.  It would also provide an opportunity to connect with community-based organizations that focus on environmental topics.

Have you found infographic examples that demonstrate empathy in the design process to share with your students?

Motivation Monday

Last week, my daughter attended a STEM camp at Loyola University in Chicago.  The Lake Shore Campus is breathtaking ~ combing gorgeous landscaping, beautiful architecture, and exceptional design elements to promote environmental sustainability.  

Our first evening stroll through campus revealed this beautiful thought, "May peace prevail on earth".  This photograph only captures the English version, but each of the four sides had the message displayed in two languages ~ a powerful statement of hope.

Fun Finds Friday

Read the original post of how I use Fun Finds on Fridays.

This week's finds:

1.   Brilliant - Website designed to help you excel in math and science.  Users can "learn from wiki pages and problems written by a community of mathematicians, scientists, and engineers". Students can choose from subjects such as algebra, geometry, basic mathematics, chemistry, computer science, and electricity and magnetism.

2.  Pantheon - Visualizes global culture by analyzing data.  Check out their Tree Maps, Matrices, Scatterplots, and Maps ~ all are awesome!

3.  The 30-Second Brain Test - Which side of your brain is more dominant?   Take this 30-second test to find out.

4.  DIY - Kids can learn how to do some amazing things - from other kids!  They can try a challenge, get peer feedback, and earn badges.

What have you discovered this week?

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ISTE

One of our Makerspace sessions this month is a poster session at ISTE in Denver.  I attended ISTE for the first time last summer with an eLearning team from my school district.  Of all the professional development opportunities I have experienced in my twenty year career, ISTE has had the biggest impact.  Twenty thousand people convened in Philadelphia in June of 2015 to learn more about technology in education, and I was fortunate to be one of them.  

The ISTE format is the ultimate "Design Your Own PD" experience.  You can mix and match from a variety of formats to best meet your learning needs: lectures, panels, research papers, snapshots, forums, interactive lectures, poster sessions, learning academies, playgrounds, and workshops.  And, you choose the content that is most applicable to you.  

I had the best time at the playgrounds (STEM, Maker, Digital Storytelling, Creativity, Mobile Learning, Games and Virtual Environments, Ed Tech Coaches, and InnovativeEducation), where you could listen to short "how to" presentations, then try the tech out yourself.  I gleaned lots of information from visiting with presenters at the posters sessions, where you can sweep through the room and gather perspectives from across the country on a featured topic.  

One of my most memorable sessions was a littleBits interactive workshop, where I worked with a team of seven to complete a challenge.  We grouped ourselves together randomly, and my small group represented educators from three countries and four states.  It was exciting to be part of a team gathered for just thirty minutes, that represented seven different grade levels/subject areas, and had such global diversity.  We talked about what education looked like in our part of the world, and how we could integrate littleBits into our specific learning environments.

I am excited/scared/nervous/anxious about presenting next week.  I love that we will be part of the Makerspace Poster Session environment.  I will learn so much from the other presenters in the session who share my passion for maker environments.  I will learn so much from those walking through to visit with us about how the Makerspace concept works in our setting.  And, that will just comprise two hours of a four day conference.  So much learning!

Makerspace

Two years ago I converted my classroom to a Makerspace environment.  In preparing for a couple of professional development sessions we are presenting this summer, I have been reflecting on what has helped the Makerspace concept be successful in my classroom.  Here are some tips!


Makerspace Tips

M - Make learning meaningful.  Makerspaces are full of opportunities.  Students can "make" to show their learning on a topic, demonstrating how they are meeting the learning standards for your district.  They can "make" as part of genius hour/passion projects/independent study/innovation hour. They can make in response to a teacher prompt.  Or, they can make as part of a PBL project.

A - Ask for donations of supplies.  Give parents, staff, and the community a list of materials you would like to add to your space.  I have received LEGOs, wood and foam scraps,  sewing supplies, art materials, and more.  People are very generous, and are often looking for a place to donate things they no longer use.

K - Keep it organized.  I use tubs to sort cardboard, plastic, and Styrofoam.   I put pictures in LEGO kits to help keep the pieces in the right place.  I sort materials by the type of supply. Ikea has fun and inexpensive containers, and the dollar spot at Target is a great place to visit. (Okay, Target in general is a great place to visit.)

E - Expand the possibilities of your space.  Find open-ended supplies that will enable students to do a variety of different things.  Some examples include Makey Makey, Green Screen, Raspberry Pis, Circuit Stickers, Squishy Circuits, and Roominate.

R - Robotics.  There are some really cool robots available to add to your space, in a range of prices.  I have added Ozobot, Wonder Workshop's Dash and Dot, Cubelets, Snap Rover, and LEGO WeDo.

S -  Start with what you already have.  I started with the art supplies that had accumulated over 18 years of teaching.  My first summer, I saved cardboard tubes from toilet paper and paper towel rolls.  I collected cardboard boxes, plastic lids, Styrofoam from packages, and plastic containers from food items.  If you have an iPad, you can download a stop motion animation app and be on your way.  Kids can take apart old technology to see how it works, then repurpose the materials to make something new.

P - Passion Projects.  If you run a genius hour/innovation hour/20% time, students can use the materials in your Makerspace to create "answers" to "problems" they have identified.

A - Add materials over time.  Start adding materials in your classroom budget.  Write proposals and grants through websites like Donors Choose, Think It Up, Kids in Need, and local foundations.

C -  Challenges.  There are so many challenges out there.  Use your Makerspace to participate in the International Cardboard Challenge, LEGO creative uses challenge, Wonder Workshop Robotics Competition, Hour of Code, Rube Goldberg Challenge, or Google Science Fair.  Watch social media channels to spot additional challenges ~ they pop up all the time!

E - Even more ideas.  Play with polymers.  Use 3D Doodler Pens. Try claymation.  Solve a problem in the world.  Complete a STEM challenge.  Learn to program.  Just tinker!

But, most importantly, keep it organized!

A few things I have made for my Makerspace:

Download an "I'm a Maker" poster.

Try Makerspace Idea Cards if kids need an idea to get started.

Link to the Makerspace Poster at the top of this post.


What tips do you have for Makerspaces?