Studying and Designing Makerspaces

October 29, 2012

Makerspaces are emerging, informal sites for creative production in art, science, and engineering where people of all ages blend digital and physical technologies to explore ideas, learn technical skills, and create new products. Erica Halverson and colleagues are learning how and what people learn from their participation in makerspaces, and exploring how features of these environments can be leveraged to create designed learning experiences. With funding from the National Science Foundation, Halverson and colleagues examine makerspaces that have been identified as rich learning sites to understand the learning arrangements and processes that emerge in these spaces and investigate how technologies are learned and used. Learn about one collaborating organization, the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh's MAKESHOP.