Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

What is a Makerspace?

  • By Bryan Shark
  • 11/01/17

Makerspaces are “DIY” social spaces where students meet to create, design, share ideas and learn. They may contain a variety of resources — craft, hardware supplies, 3D printers, electronics, etc.

Why should we start a makerspace?

Makerspaces are popular because they incubate STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills, marketable proficiencies for students in the 21st-century economy. Aside from STEM, makerspaces promote collaboration, critical thinking and creativity — skills students use in college and career.

What does it look like?

A makerspace can be as high-tech or low-tech as desired. The important factor is to provide a safe, collaborative environment.

Furniture and equipment should be flexible and durable, enabling student-teacher movement and task-transitioning. Furnishings should also allow for enhanced organization of various objects (e.g. peg boards for hanging tools). If your makerspace is high-tech, furnishings should provide options to charge tools and devices.

In many schools, media centers facilitate problem-solving and design-thinking projects in varied dynamic makerspaces. Areas of discovery include robotics, iMovie making, gaming, circuitry, music production and construction while utilizing high-tech tools such as 3D printers and graphic design programs.

What are some ideas?

Great makerspace projects are mashups from all disciplines. For example, circuitry combined with paper can provide a new perspective on greeting cards or signs; water could be used to test floatable machines; etc.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Bryan Shark is the vice president of Sales – Furniture and Equipment at School Specialty, Inc., a leading distributor of products, services and solutions to the education marketplace.

Featured

  • Niles West High School Natatorium Renovation

    Natatoriums are highly specialized spaces, and luminaires in this setting face several unique challenges. Perhaps the most significant is corrosion, which is exacerbated by high indoor humidity, condensation, and pool chemicals, often resulting in material degradation in luminaires not certified to perform in corrosive environments.

  • DLR Group Appoints New K–12 Education Practice Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has named its new global K–12 Education leader, Senior Principal Carmen Wyckoff, AIA, LEED AP, according to a news release. Her teams have members in all 36 of the firm’s offices in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Europe, and Asia.

  • UNL Kiewit Hall

    Designing for Engineering Excellence: Integrating Sustainability and Wellness at UNLs Kiewit Hall

    Kiewit Hall at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln exemplifies how academic institutions can integrate sustainability and wellness into modern learning environments. With an integrated and collaborative team approach, Kiewit Hall addresses enhanced learning and creativity, physical health, and mental wellness, and fosters a sense of community through innovative design, operations, and policy solutions.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part II

    As education leaders look toward 2026, the design of K–12 and higher education facilities is being reshaped by powerful, converging forces. Survey respondents point to the rapid growth of Career and Technical Education, deeper alignment with workforce and industry needs, and the accelerating influence of AI and emerging technologies.

Digital Edition