Chris Hopkins

We have always been a creative arts community and are looking at ways to develop our creative talents beyond the art space and into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). With our artistic talents, STEM easily becomes STEAM!

Our students already like making...
  
We are embarking on an experimental journey in 2016, a risk-taking adventure littered with all the trials that help us learn and lead to success. We want our students to make, explore, test and refine their ideas in order to solve complex problems. STEAM will be the focus that drives and motivates our students to learn key literacy and numeracy skills, integrated across a wide range of subject areas. This is meaningful, relevant and challenging - the best way to learn, in our opinion...

To do this, we need a functional MakerSpace which our students have aptly named 'The Room of Requirement' (we hope you get the wonderful literary reference...). This space is a veritable treasure trove of tools and equipment for us to build and solve any real-life problem from robotics to environmental science. Our students will be responsible for leading us on a learning journey determined by their own questions, interests and skills; uncovering the secrets of the design and engineering process along the way. 

We believe that MakerSpaces and STEAM are the perfect model to develop key skills required for the university students and leaders of tomorrow. By funding our project you will help us to to share our journey with our community, our local schools and globally as we spread the exciting adventure of the maker movement online. 

Here are some examples of existing MakerSpaces and activities in other schools:

 

Your help will give us a great ol' leg-up and get us on the road to invention and success!

Want to find our more about the Maker movement and STEM/STEAM? Here are some useful links (mostly from the US but the movement is just as relevant here and is now the focus of Federal funding and investment):
Why the Maker Movement is Important to America's Future
STEM to STEAM (Edutopia)
Restoring the Focus on STEM in Schools Initiative (Australian Government)
Creating MakerSpaces in schools (Edutopia)

To find out more about our school and to see snapshots of our learning, visit our Facebook page and school website.

We are fortunate to have a suitable space, an old computer lab, which we will re-purpose and revitalise into a buzzing hive of activity. We plan to equip our MakerSpace with the following equipment and furniture (our school has already purchased a 3D printer from it's own funds and will provide Edison robots):

Our old, boring lab...(sigh)


These items should fix it up...
- A large round table for collaborative work - $300
- Metal work stools $26 x 12 = $312
- High-end PC for 3D modelling - $650
- Shelving and storage - $600
- Lego Technic - $300
- Meccano sets - $300
- Makey Makey Go - 10 x $25 = $250
- Inspirational books - $300
- Basic hand tools - $400
- Raspberry Pi - $50 x 5 = $250
- Construction materials (Balsa, straws, play doh, pipe cleaners, sheet plastic etc.) - $500
- Electrical wires, batteries, motors, solar panels - $300
- Safety equipment - $150
- Wheels, cogs and levers - $150
- Blackboard paint (for brainstorming) - $50
- Rechargeable batteries - $100
- Contingency - $88!!! - help us increase this contingency by giving above and beyond our $5000 goal!

Our Year 6 students are very excited to be collaborating in the design of this new space.

As part of our school's commitment to this program, we have already developed a plan (with attached funding) to overcome one of our biggest challenges - staff skills and knowledge. While our wonderful teachers don't profess to knowing everything (nor should they) it is helpful to ensure they have been involved in meaningful professional development opportunities to make the best use of this exciting challenge. We are blessed with motivated staff who are all lifelong learners and we are as excited about this journey as the students.

Space is our other issue. While our lab is suitable for this purpose, the success and growth of the project might require expansion into other spaces such as our library and multi-purpose room. We are prepared for this!

Finally, safety. Our staff will undertake safety training in all equipment and risk assessments will be in place to manage any possible risk. The equipment we are purchasing will be child-friendly and has been recommended by other STEM schools.