Globalization and technology have placed a recognizable pressure on both employers and educational institutions. Entry-level employees must be adaptive, innovative, collaborative, and have strong problem-solving and communication skills. To prepare students for the future workforce, schools must revisit existing practices and find new ways to foster innovation as the gap between the new skills students need verses what is being taught in public schools continues to grow (Bybee et al, 2006; Wagner, 2012). One way to increase students' interest and skills in STEM education is by incorporating makerspaces into schools. Makerspaces are physical spaces where people have opportunities to build and construct objects based on their own personal interests. Makerspaces foster the innovative ideas and skills students need upon graduation. This qualitative case study investigates why educational leaders decided to launch a makerspace lab and how school leaders established a model makerspace lab at an elementary school. The purpose of this study was to document and describe the change process connected with the implementation of the makerspace lab, how leaders navigated various obstacles, perceptions of the change process, and lessons learned from educators. The findings show that school leaders experienced a novel concept after visiting an extraordinary model makerspace program which demonstrated a unique approach to developing the innovative capacity of young learners. These experiences created a transformational moment in school leaders that motivated them to be change agents and launch their own makerspace lab. School leaders developed community partnerships with an engineering university, a Fortune 500 company, an education community foundation, and a large school district to make this work possible. Together, these educational and business collaborators created a model elementary makerspace model that is one of the first of its kind on the east coast and currently services students from other schools in the region. The findings further discuss the importance of community partnerships, inviting other schools to participate, having a model program to emulate, having the right people, and how a school initiative became a district opportunity. / Doctor of Education / Globalization and technology have pressured both employers and educational institutions to change. Entry-level employees must be adaptive, innovative, collaborative, and have strong problem-solving and communication skills. To prepare students for the future workforce, schools must revisit existing practices and find new ways to foster innovation as the gap between the new skills students need verses what is being taught in public schools continues to grow (Bybee et al, 2006; Wagner, 2012). One way to increase students’ interest and skills in STEM education is by incorporating makerspaces into schools. Makerspaces are physical spaces where people have opportunities to build and construct objects based on their own personal interests. Makerspaces foster the innovative ideas and skills students need upon graduation. This qualitative case study investigates why educational leaders decided to launch a makerspace lab and how school leaders established a model makerspace lab at an elementary school. The purpose of this study was to document and describe the change process connected with the implementation of the makerspace lab, how leaders navigated various obstacles, perceptions of the change process, and lessons learned from educators. The findings show that school leaders experienced a novel concept after visiting an extraordinary model makerspace program which demonstrated a unique approach to developing the innovative capacity of young learners. These experiences created a transformational moment in school leaders that motivated them to be change agents and launch their own makerspace lab. School leaders developed community partnerships with an engineering university, a Fortune 500 company, an education community foundation, and a large school district to make this work possible. Together, these educational and business leaders created a model elementary makerspace model that is one of the first of its kind on the east coast and currently services students from other schools in the region. The findings further discuss the importance of community partnerships, inviting other schools to participate, having a model program to emulate, having the right people, and how a school initiative became a district opportunity.

The purpose of this study is to examine the makerspace phenomenon in relation to Swedish public libraries today using the Four Space Model. The study seeks to establish whether makerspaces in public libraries can contribute to increasing the relevance of the public library in an increasingly technological society. It also seeks to investigate if having a makerspace in public libraries can revitalize the public libraries mission of popular education.

I Nynäshamns tätort, vid knutpunkten mellan väg 73, färjehamnen och pendeltågets slutstation finns ett välbesökt område där skärgårdsidyll möter lastbilar, turister möter vardagspendlare, asfalt möter natur. Här har jag placerat mitt projekt Art Lab Nynäshamn. Frilansande kulturarbetare är ständigt på jakt efter platser att skapa sig ett sammanhang och få tid att förkovra sig, något jag vill knyta an till i mitt projekt.  Programmet består av tre huvuddelar; konstnärsresidens med ateljéer och bostäder, ett makerspace för aktiviteter i gränslandet mellan konst, hantverk och teknik, samt en konsthall. I mitt projekt vill jag skapa en kreativ gemenskap och ge utrymme för idéer att utvecklas, en plats att sluta okynnesscrolla och börja göra grejer. / In Nynäshamn, by the infrastructural intersection of road 73, the ferry port and commuter train, is a popular area where archipelago charm meets trucks, tourists meet daily commuters, asphalt meets nature. These are the surroundings for my project Art Lab Nynäshamn. Freelancing artists are in constant search for opportunities to have time and space for total devotion in their artistic exploration, this is something I aim to promote in my project. The program consists of three main parts: artist residencies with studios and accommodations, a makerspace for activities within art, crafts and technology, and an art gallery. In my project, I aim to give the possibilities for a creative community and provide a space for ideas to flourish—a place to stop the mindless scrolling and start making things.

Thesis advisor: Katherine McNeill / Gaining popular recognition in the U.S. with the advent of the first White House Maker Faire in 2014, makerspaces have become an increasingly popular feature of the K-12 educational landscape. While makerspaces have been subject to critique related to the lack of inclusivity within the broader predominantly white and male ‘maker culture’, they have also been recognized for their potential to include and attract students that have been historically underrepresented in the STEM fields, specifically female, African-American and Latinx students (Halverson & Sheridan, 2014; Kafai et al., 2014; Vossoughi, et al., 2016). However, despite their popularity and the growing body of empirical evidence documenting their use in the K-12 context, there are many topics that warrant further exploration, from teachers’ experiences with making, to the processes involved in their long term success or failure, and issues related to leadership, professional development and teacher expertise (Haron & Hughes, 2018). Responding to the need for greater understanding of these issues, this exploratory case study examines the organizational and curricular role of an established middle school makerspace through observations, student surveys, and individual interviews with teachers and school leaders. Findings of this study revealed themes related to (a) discrepancies between participants’ aspirational ideals and the practical reality of their experiences; (b) the important role of flexibility and rigidity within the curriculum and school structures; and (c) the mutually influential relationships that exist between materials, identity, expertise and participation. Each of these themes held specific consequences for equity and inclusion. The findings of this study highlight the critical importance of attending to equity in the implementation of maker learning environments and the central role that school structures, materials and perceptions play in addressing historical inequities in making and STEAM. This study concludes with recommendations for researchers, teachers and school leaders that place equity at the center of plans for school-based making and directions for future research. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

How can the convergence of human interaction and form activate underused spaces and catalyze future community developments? Architecture is defined by human needs, such as that of shelter, comfort, and place. However, we as humans have other needs; the need to create, to make, to play, to thrive, to inhabit, and to interact. The interaction between humans and architecture can serve as fuel to answer the question of how these ideas converge. This thesis examines the dynamic between humans and architecture, and how this interaction can catalyze future change by creating space and place utilized within the underused areas of urban communities. The debate of form versus function is not new, but this thesis continues to question this relationship. It questions what happens when we are allowed to change form – what happens to the function? If we are allowed to change the function, what happens to the form? What can we control through these changes, and what can we create? These questions can be answered through the development of a series of dynamic structures with the ability to expand and contract. Through the process of this expansion and contraction, function becomes variable. Form becomes dynamic. These structures inhabit the leftover spaces of urban settings, using the limited space between buildings to the advantage of creating a dynamic, ever-changing space for community placemaking and architectural intervention, and allowing future community developments to thrive in these leftover spaces. These modular, compact, built environments have the potential to blend the literal and metaphorical boundaries of surface, program, and human interaction. By allowing the individuals of an urban community to gather within an otherwise ignored space, and by giving them the ability to physically transform this space establishes a place to create, make, play, grow, perform, learn, relax, and socialize.

Als „Gemeinschaft in Neuen Medien“ wird im Artikel die Community der sog. Makerspaces diskutiert – offene kreative Werkstätten, deren neues Medium die im Begriff „Fablab“ zusammengefassten neuen Design- und Herstellungstechnologien sind. Diese beruhen auf einer digitalen Durchgängigkeit von den frühen konzeptionellen Phasen bis hin zur Prototypen-Fertigung und haben inzwischen eine globale Vernetzung zwischen einzelnen Werkstätten und Akteuren hervor gebracht. Basierend auf der Einrichtung eines temporären Makerspaces durch die SLUB Dresden, die TU Dresden und die Dresdner Kreativszene im Frühsommer 2014, untersucht der Beitrag die Rolle von Makerspaces bzw. Fablabs im wissenschaftlichen Kontext. Konkret wird die Frage diskutiert, welchen Mehrwert Makerspaces vor allem der akademischen Forschung bieten: Sind Makerspaces „Science Fabs“ – also Werkstätten in denen belastbare neue Wissenschaft fabriziert wird? Und welche neue „Fab Science“ entsteht in solchen Werkstätten? Wie beeinflusst das Wissen um die Herstellbarkeit der Dinge die Entwicklung von Wissen und Wissensgesellschaft? Eine Reihe von „Begabungen“ machen die Fablabs relevant für die wissenschaftliche Arbeit: ihr praktisches Potential, Interdisziplinarität auf den verschiedensten Ebenen zu unterstützen („Synergieverstärker“); ihre Zugänglichkeit und Offenheit für ein breites Nutzerspektrum („Citizen Science“) sowie ihr Modellcharakter zur Beforschung produktiver Kooperation und Interaktion (“Living Lab”). Diese Annahmen wurden am Beispiel des Dresdner Makerspaces untersucht und bewertet.

Das Paper beschreibt das Konzept des im EU Kooperationsprogramm INTERREG Polen-Sachsen 2014–2020 geförderten Projekts „TRAILS – Traveling Innovation Labs and Services“ und stellt erste Ergebnisse der explorativen Analyse vor. TRAILS bringt mobile Innovationslabore direkt zu Schulen sowie Unternehmen an Standorte in der deutsch-polnischen Grenzregion und ist dort jeweils für eine Woche stationiert. In den Innovationslaboren kommen Schüler in eintägigen Workshops mit Unternehmertum in Berührung, kreieren eigene Projektideen und testen neue Technologien. Mitarbeiter von KMU trainieren Methoden, um neue Produkte und Services zu entwickeln und Prozesse zu optimieren. Ziel ist es, Formate wie Business Modeling, Makerspaces und Hackathons samt benötigten Räumlichkeiten, Technologien und Workshop-Programmen in strukturschwachen Regionen vor Ort anzubieten und für die digitale Transformation sowie neue Geschäfts- und Vermarktungsmodelle zu sensibilisieren.

The past decade spotlighted a trend, which is that of individual users taking the role of innovators and physically creating their own products by explooting model additive manufacturing techniques. This trend emphasized the need for facilities able to serve as a platform for passionate makers to share knowledge, meet others and provides opportunities to realize their ideas. One of these platforms is Karlskrona Makerspace (KMS). KMS is located at Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) and provides 3D printing service, CNC milling machine and other facilities to help companies and individuals build physical prototypes. The purpose of this thesis is to expand the business of KMS and offer their service to more people. The study collects customer needs from potential KMS customers and aims at obtaining a viable business model after ranking risks. The main methodology used for building a business model is Running Lean Methodology to clear up complex associations in a business. The result shows that the business model identifies target customers, and clarifies the solutions to increase funding for KMS.

Makerspaces are a popular, new concept being implemented in public, academic, and school libraries, and as stand-alone spaces. The literature reflects the newness of the topic with a limited number of articles and studies and even less about the users of makerspaces themselves. This study explored information sharing behaviors in the Dallas Makerspace as an informal learning environment and described their preferred method of information transfer from one member to another. It employed a mixed methods methodology using surveys, interviews and observations. The study identified how the rules and policies in place at the makerspace influence the information seeking process and how the Dallas Makerspace exchanges information effectively. Dallas Makerspace is one of the largest non-profit work groups in its size, and this research study answers how information is exchanged in an informal environment.

This paper discusses the creation of a makerspace on Mississippi State’s campus. A makerspace is a location that provides prototyping and design tools, and is made available to students, faculty, and staff. The process of starting, staffing, and funding the space are discussed, as well as, the liability of operating the space. The paper outlines the operation of the space as a student organization partnered with the university, and the unique approach of networking existing campus resources into a shared organizational structure.