The maker movement is about creativity, production, and doing it yourself. Maker activities can include many things from crafts (knitting, making paper, duct tape creations) to electronics (robotics, 3D printing, circuitry) to food (cooking, gardening, making cheese) and more (writing, woodworking, movie making). Connected learning and establishing a community through which we learn is also an important part of making.
We believe that everyone is a maker and are involved in a number of projects to help facilitate creativity for makers of all ages. Here are a few examples of our maker work:
- Creativity in a Box is a cross-generational maker project that involves schools, libraries, and community events. It includes a series of workshops, activity boxes that can be checked out, and an online site all of which empower learners to be at the center of their learning and to develop critical thinking, collaboration, communication, design thinking, self-direction, and growth mindset skills. (This project was also expanded to include Workshops in a Box.)
- We are involved in local oral history projects, including this one.
- CLMOOC is an online collaboration in which participants experience connected learning in a context of making things together. As a part of this work, we also developed, manage, and maintain the CLMOOC Make Bank.
- Heritage Days for Kids is a local annual event in which kids of all ages are invited to make with us.
- Make/Hack/Play Together is an online course developed for P2PU and the HP Catalyst Academy.