The Tinkering Studio is an immersive, active, creative place at the Exploratorium where museum visitors can slow down, become deeply engaged in an investigation of scientific phenomena, and make something—a piece of a collaborative chain reaction—that fully represents their ideas and aesthetic.In the Tinkering Studio, visitors are invited to explore a curiosity-driven exhibit, chat with a featured artist, or investigate a range of phenomena with staff artists, scientists, educators, and others by participating in a collaborative activity. A large, eclectic assortment of materials, tools, and technologies are provided for people to use as they explore and create.
Month: January 2016
lectrify
Our mission is to make it easy and accessible for makers of all ages to build mechanical and electronic projects. lectrify kits are fully functioning boards making them perfect for new makers to explore circuits.Once the maker feels ready, the circuits snap off the board allowing them to be embedded into DIY projects.Our circuits have large connection points so little hands can secure the components with ease. They are sized to fit on LEGOs giving you the flexibility to embed into your new creation.
Source: lectrify
Why Engineering for Children?
If you’ve ever watched children at play, you know they’re fascinated with building things—and with taking things apart to see how they work. In other words, children are natural-born engineers. When children engineer in a school setting, research suggests several positive results:
read more at Engineering is Elementary: Why Engineering for Children?
How You Can Make a Makerspace Work for Your School – Independent Ideas Blog
Makerspaces — school-based, concept-to-reality, hands-on learning spaces — use a comprehensive approach. They have become popular among today’s educators because of the high demand for future professionals who are not only technically skilled but also experienced in working collaboratively with their peers.
For example, Peddie School (New Jersey) recently unveiled a 4,300-square-foot, state-of-the-art digital fabrication laboratory, complete with design, engineering, and testing studios. This Fab Lab continues the school’s tradition of innovating and using technology to enhance learning, according to Elizabeth Silverman, chair of the board of trust
ees at Peddie. “We believe it is important to not only integrate technology more fully into our curriculum, but also to foster interdisciplinary learning, provide opportunities for concrete applications of our STEM courses, and further develop the critical thinking skills of our students,” says Silverman.
The College Board reports that according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the growth of jobs in the STEM disciplines was three times as fast as growth in non-STEM disciplines in the last 10 years. STEM jobs are expected to grow by 17 percent versus 9.8 percent for non-STEM jobs in the 10-year period leading to 2018. But as a nation, we are not graduating nearly enough STEM majors to meet the demand. As is well documented, the United States has to either export many technical projects or import foreign talent to complete them here.
read more: How You Can Make a Makerspace Work for Your School – Independent Ideas Blog