Seckman High School students had more space “to create, to tinker and to problem solve” last school year, after media specialist Tonya Thompson added a “Makerspace” in the school library.
The school’s Makerspace, which has been named the Spark Studio, is tucked into a corner in the library and includes a catapult, circuit boards, fort building kits, fashion designing kits, Legos, craft materials and much more.
“It’s an area that sparks imagination and creativity and new ideas,” Thompson said. “It allows students to problem solve in different ways.”
Seckman High was the first school in the Fox C-6 School District to get a Makerspace, which was added last November. It’s a new trend in libraries, Thompson said.
“It ties well into the new STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) trend,” she said.
One of the more interesting items in the Makerspace, Thompson said, is a Buddha board, which is similar to a canvas, but it’s made from rice paper, and students paint on it with water, which makes a design on the paper before eventually disappearing so something new can be painted on it.
Thompson said students love the Makerspace.
“They have been totally excited about it,” she said. “One of our special education classes scheduled time to come down every week. It’s a great way to get hands-on experiences.”
She said the Makerspace offers more opportunities for students.
“It’s a good way to bring in kids (to the library) who might not necessarily come in just for books, but it’s very much a learning space.”
Thompson received a $1,000 grant from Midwest Regional Bank, which helped her fund the Makerspace. The rest came from the school’s library budget, she said.
Fox Elementary School recently was awarded a $393.50 grant from the C-6 Educational Foundation to help fund a Makerspace at that school.
Some of the items to be purchased for the Fox Elementary Makerspace include Legos, K’Nex building kits, building bricks and washable markers.
Christine Murray, the Fox Elementary librarian, said she hopes to have the Makerspace open for the start of next school year.
