Once disassembled, materials can be sorted to be upcycled into new electronics, art creations, or students can even repackage items to sell to other classrooms as math manipulatives in order to fund the purchase of new tools. In your weekly email to parents ask for tools instead of Starbucks gift-cards as holiday, end-of the year or birthday present donation with the student's name on it for years to come. Ask for old home phones, old desktops, broken kitchen appliances with motors etc. You don't need storebought "kits". Unless a student designs something and wants to teach others with a how-to demo and a step-by-step how-to page, imaginations go much farther if you do not post pre-made instructions.
Makerspace is fun for teachers too...Remember the old "make-it-take-it" teachers worksops? They were super fun!! In an IB teacher librarian training we set up a fun artistic maker space with materials to design superhero capes out of old tshirts. Our participants had to present to teachers and administrators they didn't know so this gave our superhero participants a space where they could chat about their content and settle nerves before they went out to present to other sessions, and have some fun too.
A makerspace can also be an old school super simple idea like a place to make postcards out of index cards, rulers, copies of class/student photos, markers, and stamps. Young students can practice writing, drawing portraits, landscapes etc and send to their own home or to companies requesting freebies through the mail. Another simple station is a bookmaking station...Put out paper, rulers, makers, large plastic needles, yarn and hole punch, glue and cereal boxes to make bound books with covers. Books can be put out into the class or school library. Students love finding books from older friends and family members in the library. Remind them to include dedications and copyright dates. Too fun.
These are some low-tech ideas I think are easy, cheap and don't take up a lot of space and time to establish. This article can really help you get your designer-on too.
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