"Here’s some of my favorite budget friendly projects for makerspaces. Note that while I am in a middle school, I’ve seen all four of these projects done at both the elementary and high school levels. It might take some scaffolding and adjustment, but they can definitely be done at any level." - Diana Rendina

The Edgerton Center is a home for experiential learning for students of all ages. Check out their cool projects to inspire the creative side of children!

A cross-curricular project where students engage in a makerspace acitivity learning about electrical science, ELA script planning, and art!

Make Stuff Move wants students to use tools and everyday materials to learn and develop hands-on skills in building and being creative while solving problems. STEM/STEAM is great but it is even better when tools are involved!

This Learning Library includes:
*Lesson Plans
*How-to Instructions
*Coding
& More!

(Kits are available for purchase on the site as well)

Students create a theme park for the novel “Where the Red Fern Grows" using Makerspace. OR Students create a comic book that describes all of the sequential plot elements of the story. OR Students create a test using Quizlet or Kahoot that explores all the story elements.

This is an introductory course to computer science using micro:bits as the physical tool, and MakeCode as the language. The course covers basic computer programming commands like variables and loops. It also incorporates elements of design thinking, making and problem solving to work towards the completion of tasks and activities. The course takes about 4 weeks to complete with regular work, (1 week on lessons and 3 weeks on the final project). It is recommended for grades 6-8.

How to adjust where the start and end position for a servo motor inside a Servo Sock.

Analog meters are all around us!. They are used to visually represent measurements and data. One of the most common analog meters is the fuel needle in a car. This converts a reading of the fuel level in the tank to an empty to full reading on the meter.

In this build, we will use one servo to build an electronically controlled meter. We will first simply use the knob on the control the board to move the needle converting the knob position to movement of the needle. Then, a sound sensor will be connected to convert sound level (ie music) to a meter reading. This will make it what is commonly known as a “VU-meter”

SKILLS + GOALS
Carpentry
- Use of basic tools and hardware
Construction
- Following visual assembly instructions
Code
- Understand math/code behind converting input readings to output readings (meter)
& more!

** Kits are available for purchase at makestuffmove.com **

This build works out to be useful in two ways; flinging stuff and drumming on stuff. The overall concept is to increase the inertia of the moving servo by quickly snapping the cable tie to flick the arm. The mechanics of this build is modeled after a foot pedal used in a drum kit.

The flinging aspect is just fun. Fling coins, buttons and ping-pong balls. When using the animation recording feature of the Animate Shield, beats can be recorded an looped including adjusting the speed.

SKILLS + GOALS
Construction
-Build the project following assembly instructions
Music
-Animate a beat
Carpentry
-Basic carpentry principals and hardware
Coding
-Learn about using delays in code to control movement timing
& More!

** kits available for purchase at makestuffmove.com**

Build a mechanical flower that opens up when there is light. This flower uses a few interesting mechanical movements including a push-pull cable to convert rotational movement into a linear movement for a flexible stem. Then the movement is converted back to rotational pivot points to open and close the pedals. The use of the binder clips also means that you are free to create your own flower petals.

SKILLS + GOALS
Construction
- Build the project following assembly instructions
Carpentry
- Basic carpentry principals and hardware
Art + Design
- Create and design your own flower petals
Coding

Build a mechanical heart that uses a pulse sensor to make the heart beat with yours

SKILLS + GOALS
Construction
- Build the project following assembly instructions
Carpentry
- Basic carpentry principals and hardware
Coding
& More!

** Kits are available for purchase at makestuffmove.com **

Inchworms are so simple in their movement which makes it a fun challenge to build and animate their movement. The inchworm shifts its weight during its "pinching/folding" to push the front and pull the back.

SKILLS + GOALS
Construction
-Build the project following assembly instructions
Carpentry
-Basic carpentry principals and hardware
Animation
-Learn how to animate a single cycle of movement to create continuous movement.
& More!

** Kits are available for purchase at makestuffmove.com **

How to use the features of our SOCK IO + Animate shield combo.

Welcome to Make Stuff Move! The following diagram will get things moving quickly.

The following is the .ppt presentation from Sun West on how to use Makerspace as a teaching/learning strategy for writing.

This site from Ontario explores:
What are Makerspaces?
What is a Learning Commons?
Resources
Examples

Review math concepts but transfering responsibility and having your students review old math concepts.