More than anything, I think, a makerspace is an environment, and a makerspace environment is the entire intent of EAST. Have a look at EAST Conference 2018 to see some of what students can do — have done — in the EAST environment.
All that’s needed for a place to be a makerspace is people, a place, and intent. Makerspaces have been around for, like, forever. How long the term makerspace has been around seems harder to nail down. The Online Etymology Dictionary has no entry for it, and the Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins is no help either.
The blog CURIOSITYCOMMONS‘s author has done an excellent job of answering questions surrounding the idea of a makerspace. Indeed, that is the express purpose of the blog. See its post A Brief History of Makerspaces; Wikipedia has a good article on Maker culture; certainly Cult of Pedagogy’s “The Teacher’s Guide to Tech 2018” covers it and mentions Nick Provenzano’s Nerdy Teacher and his book Your Starter Guide to Makerspaces.
NW AR FabLab‘s mission is “To provide access to the tools and resources for education, innovation and invention, using technology and digital fabrication to allow anyone to make (almost) anything.” The FabLab is located in Fayetteville AR’s town square — drop in if you are in the area and make something!
Not all warmly embrace this relatively new edtech category. Some people at UT Austin’s Library are not overjoyed to have a makerspace where all the books were. Give a listen to
Makerspace Tools and Resources
A hammer, a saw, an awl certainly qualify, but in the new edtech category coding, 3D printing and design, and robotics come to mind first.
Other resources:
http://www.makerspaceforeducation.com
Focus: the Truer the Aim the Sweeter the Life
