As a leader in the maker education community, it is crucial to create space and time for opportunities that foster these kinds of social connections. One amazing way to do this is by organizing and facilitating Maker Educator Meetups (MEMs).

Maker Educator Meetups are a great way to expand your professional learning network and to dive deeper into maker-based topics, pedagogies, ideas, and insights that can support your community’s needs. Meetups provide a welcoming environment to share successes, get feedback on upcoming projects, troubleshoot ongoing issues, and mingle outside of our respective organizations.

This playbook describes the evolution of the Bay Area Maker Educator Meetups since they started in 2014, and shares the goals, outcomes, inspirations, and nuanced details of organizing, convening, and supporting our local MEMs. We hope that this resource will assist you with organizing your own informal gatherings for local educators interested in making and makerspaces in both informal and formal settings that serve youth.