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What makes a Makerspace?

There is a lot of information, opinions, Pinterest pictures and blog posts that could answer this question. What I have determined from my reading of blogs, Twitter and experience is that a makerspace is what the students make it. Good prompts help the students discover attributes of materials and spark ideas but students will take this and make it there own. Observing students navigate the making process is finest example of self-differentiated learning. Students access the materials that they are ready for and manipulate them into ideas that are only limited by their imagination. Now I have read about how wondrous this is and the limitless possibilities but I still worried is it enough or will they need more support? I can't say that I have a definitive answer to these questions because each student is in a different place. I can say that working with my students has shown me that they need many more opportunities to experiment with materials before they will risk big ideas. I have noticed that students who have more experience with building materials such as Legos or craft supplies are more likely to jump into making and manipulate materials. It's hard to believe that a simple thing such as making would have an "achievement gap" but it is present at least in my observations. Is it possible that children of poverty lose their creativity even earlier than their peers with more financial means? I am sure someone out there is researching this and may have data to support or refute this. In my action research working with students in a high poverty elementary school I have observed a discrepancy. One that makes me justify the time and resources spent each summer giving students the opportunity to explore and create.
Coming back to my original question, what makes a makerspace? I think it is important not to compare and derive success based on the creations and projects of the makerspace. I measure the success based on the growth of the students as they take more risks with their making. I don't think they can make this journey alone. They need a guide. Someone who can purposefully chose prompts and balance them with open ended exploring. I am a long way from knowing what this balance looks like but I have realized that is ok and in fact is what a makerspace is teaching me.



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