Penketh High School Makerspace

About

Making, Maker Education and the Maker Ethos

Makerspaces come in all shapes and sizes, but they all serve as a gathering point for tools, projects, teachers, students and expertise. A Makerspace is essentially a community centre that provides technology, manufacturing equipment and educational opportunities to the public.

Makerspaces serve a variety of purposes, they inspire by inviting students to participate in the creative economy and to direct their own future, they promote innovation by serving as a catalyst for grassroots invention and they broaden education by building a connection between the larger community and the space’s learners.

Makerspaces serve the community in a number of ways:

• They offer design and develop learning programmes in a variety of community contexts, serving a diverse group of learners who may not share access to the same resources.

• They give students, teachers and the community the opportunity to collaborate with design and host online social platforms.

• They develop programs especially for young people that allow them to take a leading role in creating more Makers.

• They create a community context for the exhibition and curation of student work in relationship with all makers, ultimately creating new opportunities for students.

Makerspaces , Hackerspaces and Fablabs – what’s the difference?

Makerspaces, hackerspaces and FabLabs represent tool-based learning, however they all differ in many ways. FabLabs are a network of spaces focused predominately on digital fabrication, with a core set of tools (including basic electronics equipment, a lasercutter, a vinyl cutter, a CNC router, a CNC milling machine, and more) that allow makers to make almost anything given a brief introduction to engineering and design education.