Education

Maker Education is such a valuable role. These stories will bring you the latest information and tales of maker educators who area spreading the maker mindset. Help others learn how to make things or how to think like a maker at makerspaces, schools, universities, and local communities. The importance of maker education can not be understated. We appreciate our educators.

Chris Walker of Hack Club

Hack Club’s Chris Walker and Castle Bravo

By Dale Dougherty

Dale Dougherty

DALE DOUGHERTY is the leading advocate of the Maker Movement. He founded Make: Magazine 2005, which first used the term “makers” to describe people who enjoyed “hands-on” work and play. He started Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, and this event has spread to nearly 200 locations in 40 countries, with over 1.5M attendees annually. He is President of Make:Community, which produces Make: and Maker Faire.

In 2011 Dougherty was honored at the White House as a “Champion of Change” through an initiative that honors Americans who are “doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world.” At the 2014 White House Maker Faire he was introduced by President Obama as an American innovator making significant contributions to the fields of education and business. He believes that the Maker Movement has the potential to transform the educational experience of students and introduce them to the practice of innovation through play and tinkering.

Dougherty is the author of “Free to Make: How the Maker Movement Is Changing our Jobs, Schools and Minds” with Adriane Conrad. He is co-author of "Maker City: A Practical Guide for Reinventing American Cities" with Peter Hirshberg and Marcia Kadanoff.

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Chris started Castle Bravo as a personal project — with the idea of turning a bouncy castle into a boat — a motorized floating bouncy castle.

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Jason Kennedy and Donnell Layne of Moreno Valley College

Growing into the Future: The Makerspace at Moreno Valley College

By Dale Dougherty

Dale Dougherty

DALE DOUGHERTY is the leading advocate of the Maker Movement. He founded Make: Magazine 2005, which first used the term “makers” to describe people who enjoyed “hands-on” work and play. He started Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, and this event has spread to nearly 200 locations in 40 countries, with over 1.5M attendees annually. He is President of Make:Community, which produces Make: and Maker Faire.

In 2011 Dougherty was honored at the White House as a “Champion of Change” through an initiative that honors Americans who are “doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world.” At the 2014 White House Maker Faire he was introduced by President Obama as an American innovator making significant contributions to the fields of education and business. He believes that the Maker Movement has the potential to transform the educational experience of students and introduce them to the practice of innovation through play and tinkering.

Dougherty is the author of “Free to Make: How the Maker Movement Is Changing our Jobs, Schools and Minds” with Adriane Conrad. He is co-author of "Maker City: A Practical Guide for Reinventing American Cities" with Peter Hirshberg and Marcia Kadanoff.

View more articles by Dale Dougherty

What a makerspace at Moreno Valley College can do for community college students and faculty Donnell Layne and Jason Kennedy developed the iMake Innovation Center Makerspace at Moreno Valley College in Southern California, an Hispanic-serving community college in Riverside. They talk about developing the space to meet the needs of students and faculty as well […]

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Students excited about a heart that they made

Authentic Learning and Making

By Dale Dougherty

Dale Dougherty

DALE DOUGHERTY is the leading advocate of the Maker Movement. He founded Make: Magazine 2005, which first used the term “makers” to describe people who enjoyed “hands-on” work and play. He started Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, and this event has spread to nearly 200 locations in 40 countries, with over 1.5M attendees annually. He is President of Make:Community, which produces Make: and Maker Faire.

In 2011 Dougherty was honored at the White House as a “Champion of Change” through an initiative that honors Americans who are “doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world.” At the 2014 White House Maker Faire he was introduced by President Obama as an American innovator making significant contributions to the fields of education and business. He believes that the Maker Movement has the potential to transform the educational experience of students and introduce them to the practice of innovation through play and tinkering.

Dougherty is the author of “Free to Make: How the Maker Movement Is Changing our Jobs, Schools and Minds” with Adriane Conrad. He is co-author of "Maker City: A Practical Guide for Reinventing American Cities" with Peter Hirshberg and Marcia Kadanoff.

View more articles by Dale Dougherty

Michael Stone is an educator who led efforts to create 34 Fab Labs in K-12 schools in Hamilton County, Tennessee, despite not thinking of himself as having any skills or interest in making. He was a basketball coach with a degree in computer science. Now, as Vice President of Innovative Learning for the Public Education […]

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Rocky Mountain Rep Rap Festival 2023

Rocky Mountain RepRap Fest: All The Cool 3D Printing Stuff

By Alicia Williams

Alicia Williams

Alicia is the Software Engineering Manager at Make:. You may have seen Alicia walking around Maker Faire with her Bat Girl cape. Do not be afraid, she is devoted to saving the world, one website at a time. Her magical powers include turning coffee into code and fixing 404 not found errors.

Alicia has been coding since before coding was cool (OK, we aren’t talking way back to punch cards, but there were green screens involved). In her ‘down time’ she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, puzzles, and is a huge advocate for Autism.

Light it up blue!!

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Have you ever been to a Rep Rap festival? If you are like me, you may have heard the term but didn’t really know what it was. It has something to do with 3D printing right? It is that and so much more!!

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A Beautiful Sight to See Through: The Hard and Unusual Craft of Stained Glass

A Beautiful Sight to See Through: The Hard and Unusual Craft of Stained Glass

Erin Bangle

By Erin Bangle

Erin Bangle

Erin “the Queen of Awesome” Bangle has been teaching for 23 years. When she isn’t teaching, she’s working on various glass projects, taking photos, or feeding her kids. Sometimes, she’s doing all three…

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Students cut glass and solder to create stained-glass windows at Spokane’s On Track Academy

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If Kids Really Knew STEM

If Kids Really Knew STEM

By Dale Dougherty

Dale Dougherty

DALE DOUGHERTY is the leading advocate of the Maker Movement. He founded Make: Magazine 2005, which first used the term “makers” to describe people who enjoyed “hands-on” work and play. He started Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, and this event has spread to nearly 200 locations in 40 countries, with over 1.5M attendees annually. He is President of Make:Community, which produces Make: and Maker Faire.

In 2011 Dougherty was honored at the White House as a “Champion of Change” through an initiative that honors Americans who are “doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world.” At the 2014 White House Maker Faire he was introduced by President Obama as an American innovator making significant contributions to the fields of education and business. He believes that the Maker Movement has the potential to transform the educational experience of students and introduce them to the practice of innovation through play and tinkering.

Dougherty is the author of “Free to Make: How the Maker Movement Is Changing our Jobs, Schools and Minds” with Adriane Conrad. He is co-author of "Maker City: A Practical Guide for Reinventing American Cities" with Peter Hirshberg and Marcia Kadanoff.

View more articles by Dale Dougherty

Jasmine Florentine’s new book introduces making and STEM to middle-schoolers. The book, “Hex Allen and the Clanksmiths”, creates a fantasy world where real problems are solved by hands-on skills. Jasmine is driven to help young people understand STEM, not just as a field of study, but as an opportunity to apply their creativity as well […]

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East Coast RepRap Festival 2022: Back in Person!

East Coast RepRap Festival 2022: Back in Person!

Joan Horvath and Rich Cameron

By Joan Horvath and Rich Cameron

Joan Horvath and Rich Cameron

cofounders of Nonscriptum LLC (nonscriptum.com) and the authors of many maker books, most recently Make: Geometry. Twitter: @JoanHorvath, @whosawhatsis

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For the first time since 2019, East Coast RepRap Festival (ERRF) was held in-person in Bel Air, Maryland. A total of about 1600 attendees, including over 60 corporate sponsors and almost 50 exhibitors filled the APFCU Arena at Harford Community College. The event was a mix of business-to-business dealmaking, hobbyist showcase, and some wide-eyed kids […]

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