In my previous libraries, I had literally no space for a makerspace. I had one book shelf with some art supplies and that was it. I started at my current school in September of 2019, and it was a dream of open space and untapped potential. Here, I would finally be able to start a makerspace. I was still getting to know my new school, new students and my new collection when the world came to a screeching halt in March of 2020. My makerspace dreams were put on hold until 2021, when restrictions were lifted allowing my kids to design, collaborate, build and explore together. The problem now was that I had no budget!
I thought about doing a Donors Choose project and posting a link to it on my Facebook page but It occurred to me that I had an untapped resource in my social media. I posted asking family and friends to donate any puzzles and Legos that they were willing to part with so that I could start a Lego library.
The response was incredible! So many friends and family members had Legos no longer used by children who had gone off to college and puzzles from the pandemic now taking up shelf space. I felt like Bonnie from Toy Story, giving these objects a new home in my library.
My principal found me some manila drawing paper, and a classroom pack of crayons, as well as pencils and erasers. I had a set of craft scissors, glue sticks and I purchased 6 sets of colored markers from Amazon and some coloring books from the dollar store, and we were up and running. I found a bunch of unused plastic bins laying around, and I repurposed them into Lego storage. One of my awesome 8th graders brought his lunch into the library every day for two weeks and went to town organizing Legos. His system was to organize them by color. I added a 4 inch binder with plastic sleeves to keep instructions for different builds in. Now, any student who wants to do a specific build can look up the instructions in the binder or on the Lego app, gather their materials and go to work on their build.
I was able to use some of my library budget to purchase some new K’nex kits and basic Lego sets and base plates for students to build on. One of my favorites is a giant working Ferris wheel. It’s been up since 2021, and i just took it apart so one of my special needs students could build it again. He’s worked diligently with his aide and another student. Here is the finished product.
My future engineers and designers also love doing a free build or participating in a challenge using my task cards. (Insert link) Building With LEGO® Bricks - Library Makerspace STEAM Stations Task Cards by The Middle School Librarian on Teachers Pay Teachers
One of the greatest benefits of our makerspace is the opportunities it offers for collaboration and cooperative learning.
Post pandemic, our kids had a rough time connecting with each other in person. It was as if they had forgotten how to “do school.” Negative behaviors and interpersonal interactions were worse than I’ve ever seen in my 26 years of teaching. I found that putting out a puzzle on a giant dog crate tray from Amazon was attracting them to sit in a group of four and work together. They went from hiding behind their masks with little to no eye contact to making genuine connections though cooperative learning. And coloring was a great stress reliever for students and teachers alike.
I’ve since added graph and looseleaf paper, free coloring pages and a class pack of colored pencils, as well as air dry modeling clay and watercolor paint sets. My out of pocket cost was around $100.00.
One of my special needs students created this amazing alphabet from clay.
I’ve also added magnetic tiles and kinetic sand this year, which are big favorites with my special needs and general education populations alike.
We have a 3D printer our Instructional Technology Facilitator is going to teach me to use, and a Cricut Maker I got through a previous Donors Choose project. I love my Cricut at home, so this was a no brainer to add to my library makerspace. They’re learning about copyright and fair use in an organic, hands on way, which makes it much more meaningful for them. They take great pride and ownership in their creations, and have more empathy for other creators because they don’t want their own work copied. My advice to anyone interested in starting a makerspace is to just start. Don’t wait for it to be perfect, or to have all the right materials or the best signage. Part of the fun is the growth and improvement of your space and the projects and crafts you can offer. Go for it!