After conducting more than 50 interviews and site visits to library and museum makerspaces across the country, as well as convening a national group of library and museum professionals, the project leaders identified three key elements that create the conditions to support learning in makerspaces:
Libraries and museums implement making programs for myriad reasons. Why and how do making experiences, activities and/or spaces align with and further the goals of a making program and connect to the organization’s overall mission?
People play an important role for learning through making in museums and libraries. Educators, librarians, volunteers and guest makers are used in a variety of ways based on a program’s goals. Constraints such as funding and capacity to manage staff are also a factor. What role do people play in managing, monitoring and facilitating learning in a makerspace or program?
Making is a “hands-on” approach to learning and the tools and materials selected should dovetail with the program’s goals and the capacity of the staff. What tools, materials and architecture are central to supporting learning through making in a program and space?