By Hetgar Peralta, 11th grade at Lighthouse, Intern at the Wonderful Idea Co. The Lighthouse School Maker Faire is an event that happens every year at Lighthouse around the end of the school year. The students have a chance to present their projects from their classes, to show their fellow peers or any visitor what…
By Bryan Flaig: At John Gill Elementary, Redwood City School District’s STEAM school in Redwood City, first grade teacher, Joyce K, recently read an informational text to her 1st grade class on the theme of now and long ago. The text compared and contrasted devices people used in the 19th century with the devices we use…
Fun fact: here at the Creativity Lab, Making isn’t just about making things. Making is also about learning to see the world with new eyes, and developing deeper knowledge and understanding of the world around us. One of the ways we incorporate this idea is through using Agency by Design’s thinking routines. Educators can easily integrate these routines into any subject — even those not typically associated with making, like the Humanities. The first routine, called Parts, Purposes, and Complexities, (PPC) is a great one to start with, and is applicable to physical objects as well as abstract ideas and constructs.
These are a relatively new addition to our Creativity Lab, but they’ve been incredibly helpful. We installed these cord reels into our ceilings for easy access to power outlets, without the fuss of tangled extension cords that our students (and teachers!) are likely to trip over. These reels work something like window blinds: when not in…
The goal of maker education is not college and career preparation. The goals are deeper learning and authentic engagement, with an emphasis on turning learning over to the learner. However, making is the best college and career preparation that I have encountered, in part because it isn’t the core goal. Through making, students build their…
Someone (I don’t remember who—sorry!) recently gave us this nifty piece of advice, and I’d like to pass it on to all of you: bandage/medical scissors work really well for cutting cardboard. We used them for our marble maze and cardboard hands at Maker Faire, and they were great. I also tested them on Popsicle…