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Through a comparative case study, Sheridan and colleagues explore how makerspaces may function as learning environments. Drawing on field observations, interviews, and analysis of artifacts, videos, and other documents, the authors describe features of three makerspaces and how participants learn and develop through complex design and making practices. They describe how the makerspaces help individuals identify problems, build models, learn and apply skills, revise ideas, and share new knowledge with others. The authors conclude with a discussion of the implications of their findings for this emergent field.
Makerspaces are informal sites for creative production in art, science, and engineering where people of all ages blend digital and physical technologies to explore ideas, learn technical skills, and create new products. These spaces are a key component of a larger maker movement comprised of individual makers, local and regional maker events and publications, and a host of digital do- it-yourself resources (Dougherty, 2012; Gershenfeld, 2007). Makerspaces and the collaborative design and making activities they support have generated interest in diverse educational realms. For instance, libraries and museums have designed makerspaces to promote creative activity, resource sharing, and active engagement with materials, processes, and ideas in their collections and exhibits (Britton, 2012; Honey & Kanter, 2013). As K-12 schools align their curricula with the Next Generation Science Standards' focus on the importance of design and technology (NRC, 2012) and engineering (Schunn, Silk, & Apedoe, 2012) and the new media arts standards across the arts disciplines (NCCAS, 2014), the multidisciplinary design work often seen in makerspaces is inspiring to educators. For instance, in Virginia's Albemarle County Public Schools, learning through making is infused in diverse subjects-through designated in-school makerspaces, making practices are embedded in the school curriculum, summer programs, and teacher professional development (P. Moran, superintendent, personal communication, May 29, 2014).
In the launch of his Educate to Innovate campaign, President Obama (2009) highlighted the value of making experiences: "I want us all to think about new and creative ways to engage young people in science and engineering, whether it's science festivals, robotics competitions, fairs that encourage young people to create and build and invent-to be makers of things, not just consumers of things." The campaign posits that providing opportunities for children to learn to design and make...