The Schall Elementary’s new Idea Lab is taking shape! With generous funding from the Tuscola County Community Foundation, our proposed maker space area will soon be up and running. Since our school has purchased chromebook carts for each classroom, the old computer lab makes a perfect space for collaborative projects. Because the room will have to be shared with a reading intervention class and Responsibility Room, we want to make sure everything can be put away and unfinished projects have a place to be stored out of sight. Using the drawers and cupboards in the classroom, we have so far sorted and labeled materials that need to stay in the room for its other purposes. We purchased bins for the empty bookshelves that teachers can check out if they want to do a multi-day project in the room. We have also assembled two carts, one for consumable materials and one of engineering tools and kits. The cart of non consumables is locked so students cannot have access to the more expensive equipment without teacher permission. When the room is not being used as a makerspace, the open cart of consumables can also be easily turned around so the materials will be out of sight. To finish the housekeeping details of getting the makerspace up and running, we created a digital sign up sheet, explanation document for teachers to introduce the space to their classrooms, and designed a large wall poster with expectations for students when they are using the space. We look forward to inviting teachers up to the space at our next staff meeting so they can explore all that the Idea Lab has to offer!
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AuthorThe STEM Sisters are Elementary Teachers working together on STEM related topics and projects. Archives
January 2020
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