Category: Blog
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Why Libraries Are More Important Now Than Ever
It’s almost 4 p.m. on a November Monday, and a very un-library-like scene is unfolding inside Chicago’s Harold Washington Library teen center. Rap and pop music bump from a set of speakers, as teenagers released from schools around the city funnel into the center and settle in for the afternoon. Some gather around the TV…
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“A public library saved me from the depressing isolation of cyber school”
Cyber schooling was not among my top choices for the dream high school experience. It was the last resort after my mother and I discovered we could not afford to return to Orlando, Florida, and it was too late to enroll in Pittsburgh-area schools. I immediately despised the idea of being alone in the house…
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Understanding the Post-Emergent Phase of a Makerspace
Creating and starting a makerspace is an exciting venture; you build a team and purchase new equipment. There are a lot of resources (people and articles) that describe how emergent makerspaces can get off the ground. Once your makerspace has been open for a few years, you begin to experience challenges that are distinctly different…
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The Story of Science Museums in the YOUmedia Network
Three staff from science museums in the YOUmedia Network gathered in New York to do some professional development around what YOUmedia looks like in a science center. Matt Baker from The MiX (Science Museum of Virginia), David Wells from Maker Space (New York Hall of Science), and Matt Chilbert from TechHive (Lawrence Hall of Science)…
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Maker Programs Strive to Reach All Students
Through training and outreach, maker programs aim for greater diversity among future innovators. The maker movement is everywhere it seems. Kids tinkering with sewing machines or laser cutters, designing their own cookie cutters to “print” in a 3D-printer at libraries, museums, maker camps, or classrooms across the country. “Maker-educators” are mashing together technology with traditional…