What does a decade of dedicated makerspace programming in a public school district look like? Recently, we talked with Dain Elman, the Instructional Coach for STEM, makerspace teacher, and School Maker Faire coordinator at Gurnee District 56 Schools, about an hour north of Chicago near(ish) the Western shore of Lake Michigan. Gurnee District 56 is as unique as anywhere, but has many qualities that make it emblematic of other suburban school districts across the country. Its roughly 1800 students attend four schools: a K-2, a 3-5, a 6-8 building, and a K-8 choice school, opened due to population expansion that also increased the diversity of the district. While that expansion has slowed in recent years, Elman observed after his 20+ years teaching in the area, one place where Gurnee District differs is in its dedication to supporting STEAM learning.
Decades ago, many schools offered shop classes where students designed, built, and experimented. Over time, those spaces disappeared, replaced by computer labs and screen-based learning. While digital tools are essential, they shouldn’t replace hands-on creation. In District 56, the goal has been to restore that balance by embracing maker education—an approach that positions students as creators rather than consumers. Leadership was important in this transition in Gurnee. Under a previous superintendent passionate about innovation, Elman’s role as STEM director was created, and dedicated maker spaces opened around 2016–2017. But when that superintendent retired, the district’s focus pivoted toward measurable academic rigor.
Building A Culture of Making
When Dain Elman talks about the Gurnee District’s School Maker Faire, he doesn’t start with tools or tech. He starts with time. “2018 and 2019,” he says. “Those were our first two years. We hosted it in the middle school gym, right before spring break. The timing was perfect—there’s breathing room before the sprint to the end of the year.” This was a few years after Elman transitioned from the classroom, where he was a technology teacher, to head the newly envisioned, district-wide STEM leadership role. Across the country, these were growth years for Maker education and, particularly, for makerspaces in schools. Indeed, one of Elman’s first priorities was helping establish dedicated makerspaces in his district schools. These spaces were intentionally designed to feel different from traditional classrooms and remain places where learning can be messy, collaborative, and experimental—where cardboard, fabric, circuitry, LEGOs, robotics kits, and digital tools coexist.
The Faire That Almost Wasn’t
Then came March 2020. The School Maker Faire was canceled a week before showtime. Like many education stories across this period, the arc of Gurnee’s Maker Faire tracks the broader “sea change” in schools: pandemic disruption, a reckoning over measured achievement and actual skills and learning, shifting leadership priorities, demographic change, and now—careful rebuilding. “There was a lot of conversation about ‘making for making’s sake,’” Elman recalls. “What’s the academic benefit? How do we justify it?” Maker spaces opened in Gurnee with excitement. Teachers brought classes. Students explored. Tools buzzed.
But the novelty faded–something to which dusty maker machines in schools across the country attest. “It’s fewer teachers now,” Elman says. “Some still come. But not like at the beginning.” Post-COVID, districts nationwide shifted toward addressing “lost learning.” Reading and math reclaimed center stage. Unstructured exploration felt harder to justify. The challenge isn’t enthusiasm. It’s integration.Unless making is embedded in assessment, curriculum, and standards alignment, it risks being sidelined. Elman’s response? Lean into rigor and keep the community inspired by moving the event forward as a representation of the value and vision of project-based, innovative learning.
After the 2020 cancellation, Elman tried a virtual maker event. Families appreciated it, but hands-on learning through a screen proved difficult to replicate. Cardboard and circuits simply don’t translate the same way through Zoom. By 2022, the district brought the Maker Faire back in person—district-wide and community-facing. But it also marked a turning point. Following the 2022 event, the district decided to formally “own” the Maker Faire and rotate it among four major district celebrations: Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage, Asian Pacific Islander Celebration, and Maker Faire (now paired with Women’s History Month) across district schools. Elman is still deeply involved in all aspects of the Faire, but it changes as it moves among the campuses. His time is also divided given his involvement in the district’s theater program, where he works with students to — of course–build sets and costumes.
Community Is the Secret Ingredient
Despite structural changes, community energy has remained a constant. Outside organizations return year after year with booths and hands-on demos. College of Lake County departments show up—often five or six strong. And, in a nod to Elman’s skill as a producer now host their own annual event at the college — coming up this year on April 18th. Families who attended in 2018 now come back with older children who remember being wide-eyed elementary visitors. Maker events, unlike some school gatherings, feel open. They’re less politically charged, than the other here’s space for community members to participate in ways that feel personal. Elman agrees and notes the Faire is K–8 focused, built for families. It leans into hands-on activity over passive display. Even the Nerdy Derby track—once borrowed from Milwaukee Maker Faire, now from a local Boy Scout troop—anchors the room with kinetic joy. There’s always something disarming and connective about gravity-powered cars racing down vinyl-siding lanes. It invites play, no matter the age of the participant.
Looking Ahead to 2026 and Beyond
Still, rigor alone doesn’t explain why maker education endures. Ask Elman about impact, and he tells stories. A fourth-grade teacher once hesitated to let students cut their own Harry Potter wands. It seemed safer to pre-cut materials. But when students were given the option, every single one chose to use the saw. “There’s something empowering about it,” he says. The same dynamic appears in the theater department, where Elman serves as technical director. After school, students build large sets using drills and supervised power saws. For many, it’s their first meaningful encounter with tools. Maker spaces aren’t just about projects. They’re about identity. Some students find themselves there.
One middle schooler is so drawn to the space that he occasionally skips other classes to help Elman drill holes or prep materials. Not ideal behavior—but telling. The maker environment is magnetic. That feeling sticks. Maker education isn’t a trend or a one-time initiative. As Gurnee’s and Elman’s efforts show, it’s an ongoing commitment to creating learning environments where curiosity is valued, creativity is expected, and students are trusted to build meaningful things. In Gurnee District 56, makerspaces and the Maker Faire are simply tools to support a larger vision: helping students see themselves as capable problem-solvers who can shape the world around them. Watching students confidently explain something they built—often to an audience of peers, parents, and community members—is why this work matters. What began as a shift in one classroom has grown into a district-wide culture of making. And in that culture, students aren’t just learning about the world—they’re learning how to change it. After eight years of starts, stops, pivots, and recalibrations, the event no longer rests on novelty. It rests on intention and a tradition everyone looks forward to.
Start A School Maker Faire in Your Community
Interested in bringing innovation and creativity to your school community? Join the School Maker Faire program! Teachers, students, parents, administrators, librarians — anyone can start a School Maker Faire on their campus or organize one to unify a district. LEARN MORE and REGISTER to create lasting change for young learners and soon to be graduates alike.
ADVERTISEMENT
