If I had the ability to go back in time and adjust the education I received in one way, I would introduce a Makerspace without hesitation. Though I’m told I had an early talent for tinkering, it wasn’t well nurtured. I started gaining experience in crafty endeavors relatively recently, mostly through exposure as an employee. Learning the technical skills required to build my computer and install sound systems in my cars has been hugely rewarding, not to mention the amount of money I’ve saved from doing things myself. In my late twenties, I managed to salvage components until I was able to assemble a sound system with thousands for about two hundred bucks. It’s hard not to be bitter about what I’d be capable of if I had the appropriate resources as a child. Learning about electronics and coding in the early 2000s would have been a valuable skill to develop into adulthood. We owe it to future generations to expose them to the technologies that provide fundamental features of our day-to-day life and to inspire them about future technologies. Our society entered an era called the Information Age relatively recently. The consequences of our rapid technological development have been unexpected and many features of our culture have been slow to adapt. For example; governmental regulation of social media companies, right to repair, cryptocurrencies, advertising ethics, and copyright practices for influencers and content creators. Schools are no exception, and though modern schools certainly exist, Makerspaces seem to be far from ubiquitous.
I’ve managed to find a few resources for Makerspaces. This link leads to a directory for resources, equipment, and materials. New and exciting technologies like 3D printing, AI learning, VR, and drones have such a low bar for entry today. The Makerspace we visited was exciting, even though it seemed to be in the early stages of implementation. I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see any of its capabilities and that we weren’t given a more technical talk on it. I was itching to start going through the contents of the shelves and my mind was bursting with educational ideas.
The concept of teaching kids the skills required to make things is exciting, but teaching them skills that would translate to fixing things like headphones or blenders would go extremely far in environmental consciousness. Why purchase a new device and throw the old one away? It wastes money, contributes to landfills, and encourages the further mining of resources. Makerspaces have the potential to help us rethink our consumeristic culture, which would make a significant impact on our environmental footprint.