Makerspaces give students a place to engage in deep learning, authentic collaboration, and creative problem solving as they start with an idea and "bring it to life." At the Hamilton County School District in Chattanooga, Tennessee, students work in digital fabrication studios (makerspaces that include 3D printers among other tools for designing and creating products) and use the same tools as engineers to create tangible products that apply to their learning. You can find students sewing their fashion designs, coding on computers, creating solutions to problems via a 3D pen, or designing inventions of their own imaginations. The Hamilton County district, in partnership with a local nonprofit Public Education Foundation, boasts the largest concentration of MIT-certified FabLabs in the world, which means students have plenty of opportunities to create, experiment, play, and learn.
Credit: HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT INNOVATION DISTRICT
Second graders at Battle Academy in Tennessee were challenged to create a pollinator tool that could transfer pollen from one flower to another.
Credit: HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT INNOVATION DISTRICT
Fifth graders from Middle Valley Elementary in Tennessee build a device for a nonverbal classmate. They used coding skills to program a micro:bit that displays different graphics, allowing the student to communicate her emotions at the push of a button.
