What is a Makerspace?
A Makerspace is community center with tools. Makerspaces combine manufacturing equipment, community, and education for the purposes of enabling community members to design, prototype and create manufactured works that would not be possible to create with the resources available to individuals working alone.
Makerspaces can take the form of loosely-organized individuals sharing space and tools, for-profit companies, non-profit corporations, organizations affiliated with or hosted within schools, universities or libraries, and more. All are united in the purpose of providing access to equipment, community, and education. Every Makerspace is unique in exactly how it is arranged to fit the purposes of its particular community.
Makerspaces represent the democratization of design, engineering, fabrication and education. They are a fairly new phenomenon, but are beginning to produce projects with significant national impacts.
Makerspace Resources
- The Makerspace Playbook
- The Makerspace Playbook, School Edition
- The Makerspace Workbench
- Tinkering
- NYSCI and Cognizant created the Maker Blueprint
- Making a Makerspace? Guidelines for Accessibility and Universal Design
Extension Makerspaces
- Lab: Revolution – 4-H Playground & Makerspace – Farmington, MO
- – Saint George, Utah
- Cache Makers 4-H – Logan, Utah
- Virginia 4-H Maker Ed – Richmond City, VA
November 30, 2015
Great to see some of the resources posted, especially people involved in 4-H participating in making. How about also listing contact info for 4-H volunteers and makerspaces???
Here’s one to start with:
Lab:Revolution the 4-H Technology Playground and Makerspace
http://www.labrevo.org
December 7, 2015
Thanks for the suggestion Ann! I’ve updated this page to include Extension/4-H Makerspaces that I am aware of. if you know of any others please email me or leave a comment with a link and I will update the page.