Overview
A makerspace is essentially a physical space where people gather to create and modify objects using shared tools and knowledge that as individuals, they would not be able to access. The term makerspace is often used to describe hackerspaces, techshops and fab labs, though in reality there are some distinctions between each type of space. The individual differences between these spaces is on the next page. Makerspaces offer a physical location in which to collaborate, use tools, and often participate in scaffolded learning opportunities such as specific classes or projects. The products of a makerspace may be physical, digital, or a melange; providing a fruitful incubator for innovation, applications, and real-world products.
Makerspace members and founders espouse the values of peer collaboration, altruism and having fun.Depending on the makerspace, clients may range from school-aged up through individuals in their 80s and 90s. From a pedagogical perspective, all makerspaces support peer to peer interaction, and personalized learning.
The following video describes one particular makerspace called Makerworks. Interviews with various founders and participants give insight into the appeal of makerspaces.
Makerspaces originated in Europe as hackerspaces. Programmers would collectively share a space to create and hack programs and computer equipment. In 2007, a group of North Americans visited these hackerspaces, got excited and returned to create their own spaces. These spaces soon added equipment and programs/classes for electronic circuit design/manufacturing and physical prototyping. The adoption of the term makerspace arose when Dale Dougherty, founder of Make magazine, was naming his magazine. He had originally intended to name it Hack, but his daughter pointed out the negative connotations of the word, and thus the name Make was born. Once published, the term makerspace caught on.
Makerspaces are found in a variety of locations. Libraries have begun building makerspaces as a way to draw in members and to find new ways to serve the community as printed books give way to e-books and libraries find themselves on the edge of irrelevance. Several schools, realizing the constructivist value of these spaces have begun building their own makerspaces to promote learning and engage students. Then there are community – based, not-for-profit makerspaces. These constitute the vast majority of makerspaces and are often self-organized. As not-for-profits, these are often run by boards or membership committees and all funds raised go to paying the bills. The final models is the one we’re most interested in – commercial makerspaces. These are spaces created by individuals or groups of people who wish to promote the values of makerspaces, but make money while doing it. In other words – how to be profitable, while positively contributing to society.
Discussion: Which type of makerspace would appeal the most to you and be the most successful in your community? Is there a successful makerspace in your area?
Discussion Summary: The ETEC522 2013 Winter Term 1 cohort discussion and comments reveals that successful makerspaces consist of programs, services and tools that are culturally relevant and appeal to the community. These include:
- Hunting– One member suggested a makerspace focusing on hunting tools, skinning and meat preparation would be of interest in his local community as hunting is an important survival skill in his area, and not everyone has all the necessary tools.
- Craft-focused – For some, crafting makerspaces would have great success, as there is a strong interest in their local communities.
- Technology-focused – Others have described local makerspaces whose focus on technology seem to appeal to select groups or niche markets. Everyone seems to agree on the value of makerspaces and how they add value to society by facilitating creativity, collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Non-Profit – Although this OER focuses on commercial makerspaces, by far the most appealing model is that of a non-profit makerspace.
Please view the cohort experience in the comments below. If you are accessing this OER after November 3, 2013, you are welcome to further contribute to the discussion.
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Being a foreigner and relatively new to Monterrey, Mexico, I couldn’t really tell you if there were any markerspaces in the city, but I can see the potential for them. There is a very affluent section of town that has a high number of very educated, creative and bored house wives and recently graduated youth. On Sunday’s these people come out with their little side businesses and try to sell their wares. Unfortunately, most of them fail due to lack diversification and a sound business model. I could see how a makerspace with the right classes would benefit this untapped potential.
Living in a relatively low-income rural area, a hunting based makerspace would be a huge hit. Hunting is a large part of life and having the tools and space to process meat would be a great advantage over the current method of garage-based processing. In fact, if there were a hunting makerspace I would be likely to go hunting, as I have no clue how to process wild game. There are only a few people around who know how to process meat efficiently and I would love to be able to learn from them.
To my knowledge, there are no makerspaces in my area, but can see the right ones catching on.
Hello Jason,
What an incredible idea for a niche market – this may be your answer to this webpage! I come from a family and region of avid hunters myself, and I can definitely see how a space for hunting-related endeavors would be popular – not only DIY butchering and tanning, but also for the making of ammunition, bows, and related items.
Great start so far. I was really looking forward to this topic because unlike the others we have featured thus far (digital texts, gbl, social media etc.) I know next to nothing about this one.
I currently live in Dallas Texas so I decided to do a little search for available Makerspaces in my area. There is actually a Makerspace not far from my place. http://dallasmakerspace.org/
I’ve never been tool inclined. My grandfather was a carpenter who had tens of thousands of dollars worth of tools in his own workshop. He passed on a lot of that knowledge (and a few of those tools) to my father, but for whatever reason that knowledge was never passed down to me. On a personal level, I wish I could be a little more handy with tools. Perhaps a Makerspace is what I need to get started 🙂
Excellent find on the Dallas Makerspace, @brendangalexander! I’m going to add that to our pinterest page. I love the range of events at the space – everything from knitting, to PERL coding, to blacksmithing! Many makerspaces provide lessons on tool use, but another method would be to “just start” with something, and your skill and talent will ameliorate from there.
I’m fairly close to Detroit, MI, and there seem to be a few makerspaces available, including the aforementioned alliance with the public library system.
A business which has been in my area for approximately 8 years (so I will assume that it has been somewhat successful) is a public, DIY garage. I couldn’t make it fit perfectly into the definitions of makerspace/hackerspace/fab lab, but it seemed like it was closest to a tech shop. It provides lifts and specialty tools for home mechanics who might need a bit more than what they have access to at home. I’m sure there are a few racers who use the facilities to hack/fab, but the primary push seems to be towards people who don’t want to buy the entire set of tools required to change your brakes once.
It’s funny, but as I think of what might make a place like this successful, (and read the responses above) it’s not necessarily the services, but “2.0” factors which would make it work. People would come to places like this to interact, learn and even teach. In order to be successful, this interaction is what needs to be fostered. Or else, it just ends up as a room full of tools.
Excellent point, John, the community is essential to the maker culture and movement. The knowledge exchange and engagement that goes on between learners in these spaces provides opportunities for practical skill development, but also play, art, experimentation, and socialization. The thing about exemplar makerspaces is that they come in all shapes and sizes and they can be difficult to classify into one single category. Thank you for pointing that out, and providing the real-world example of the DIY garage in your area – which sounds very cool, by the way.
I agree with what Nicola said. The potential for social interaction is what makes makerspaces a success and differentiates them form say tool libraries, or equipment rental places. Many businesses and projects have actually gotten their start from the social interaction component – people asking how to do something, finding someone in the space knows how to do it or they sit down together and figure it out. From the talking, comes a new idea and poof, a business is born.
Excellent ideas, Jason and agafarook. It’s interesting how culture really plays a role in the type of makerspaces. Traditional spaces where people learn to hack, or do arts and crafts may not be successful in certain communities, where as in both of your respective communities, fabrication or hunting makerspaces might be more relevant. It really is important to consider the needs of a community before going ahead.
I live in a small rural community and there seem to be a lot of ‘makerspaces’ here. None of them are called that, but using the definitions provided, they would probably be ‘tech shops’ as they primarily provide public access to craft spaces, equipment and programs. They are usually groups of interested people who get together to make friends while pursuing an interest or hobby, rather than for making a profit. Sometimes money is made but it is usually for charity, or to cover the cost of the space and materials. Membership fees may or may not be required. For example, we have:
1) Quilters’ guilds that get together for “sewing, fun and friendship”.
2) A roots group that is “the genealogical branch of the Historical Society and maintains an extensive library of resources for researchers and members”.
3) A horticultural society “to promote interest in and knowledge of things pertaining to horticulture”.
4) A potters’ guild whose members rent a space and equipment that enables them to share their knowledge and expertise.
5) A songwriters’ association. “This group offers a safe, supportive atmosphere where writers and musicians can meet, jam, perform, share experiences, mentor each other, and just have fun.”
6) Drama groups.
7) Choral groups.
8) Scrapbooking groups.
9) A stained glass group.
10) A seniors’ group for exploring art.
This is a few that came to mind. There are probably even more that I don’t know about or haven’t considered.
Source
South Peace Community Arts Council. (2013), Retrieved from http://www.southpeacearts.ca/
Sounds like you live in an extremely active community. Now if all those or even some of those groups were housed in one facility, where they could all interact and cross craft then it would be a real-makerspace. The beauty of makerspaces is the interaction and cross-skill/craft collaboration. Many people for example create clothes or other items with fabric combined with Arduino circuit boards, so their projects light up, make sounds etc. Check out this blog for some ideas
Arduino projects
Thanks for reminding me about this – it is so cool!
I was first introduced to it in ETEC 511 where it was described as a method of engaging students who are not normally interested in tech courses (i.e. girls). I really liked this article about it:
Buechley, L., Eisenberg, M., Catchen, J., & Crockett, A. (2008). The LilyPad Arduino: Using computational textiles to investigate engagement, aesthetics, and diversity in computer science education. Proceedings of the twenty-sixth annual SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems (pp. 423-432), Florence, Italy, 5-10 April.
This is a really novel market and one I had never heard of until today. Thanks for the introduction to Makerspaces.
I’ve explored what is happening in Australia and was curious to see that there are some geeks and artists following this trend.
For example, a “Robots & Dinosaurs Hackerspace” is in Sydney, very much repurposing old electronics equipment.
http://www.bhatt.id.au/blog/what-are-hacker-maker-spaces-and-where-are-they-in-australia/
A fab lab tried to get off the ground in another part of the country. It was a community initiative of artists and craftspeople in a rural location that had an old, disused hospital which would have converted nicely to a makerspace.
The intention was to call it ‘egMakerspace’ (short for East Gippsland Makerspace) but it couldn’t raise the funding needed. Details are on the Pozible crowdfunding website
http://www.pozible.com/project/5344
There are a few other aspiring individuals with electronics/3D printing orientations trying to get like minds together via the MeetUp website.
What I think is great about Makerspaces is the opportunity to re-use electronic componentry (there’s so much of it going to …. somewhere??)
Great search for local makerspaces. Please add these to our Find a makerspace activity!
Makerspaces. What a cool thing! I know very little about them and am excited about their potential as a learning community. With a very focussed approach, I suppose that the ceramics, paint your own white wear, and they fire it for you, is a form of this. I loved doing this. Going to a place where all the paints and supplies were there and all I needed to do was to bring my creativity.
Kelowna, where I live, recently has created a more authentic Makerspace. http://www.meetup.com/OK-MakerSpace/
I am glad that I have found this. It wold be an awesome place to refer students who really love to make and create. There are many students that are so talented in making and creating, to have a place where they can offer their knowledge and learn more from others is brillant. I noticed on the webpage of the Kelowna Makerspace that many members are moms of home schooled kids. What a great connection for that form of education as well.
This venture has awesome collaborating and learning potential. How do they make thier money though? Is there much of a profit margin in this type of venture?
Neat makerspace. Check out our profit section and add your question to our Interview with a founder page. It’s a great one!
I know very little about this area and am looking forward to learning more about it. I live in rural Alberta, but after thinking about it have noted we have a number go Makerspaces in our community. Similar to jldr they are not known as that – we have the drama club, art club, choral groups and the rodeo club. There are probably more considering the college is here too.
What distinguishes clubs from a makerspace is that they are not housed in a single facility with multiple tools for sharing and co-collaboration. Bring them under one roof and poof! full on makerspace!
I also had never heard about Makerspaces before today, thanks so much for introducing me to this new concept. I checked areas around me and although Calgary is not right close by there are several Makerspaces in that city, most relating to science in one way or another but they all sound interesting. It’s amazing that people are able to connect with strangers through forums and work spaces like these that would have otherwise never met. Just like Lois posted above, I also wonder about the money aspect of these ventures. Are these people paid? How is the one person in change of how the makerspace will be run or items they will build? And lastly how do the creators working within these spaces keep their creations, do they still own the “right” to their work if others had input in it?
Great questions Marie-Astrid. We discuss that topic in the profit section. A makerspace does not have to be a for-profit one, but there are quite a few commercial ones out there. The majority of the income could be from membership fees and class fees, but every makerspace is different and has different needs. I think your question about input from others is really interesting, I guess if someone else had a hand in creating it, then they probably should give credit or even money (if the creation was sold for a profit) to the people who helped. I think this type of question is not just limited to makerspaces, but creations in general. Maybe you should add that question to the list on the interview with a founder page.
I have always had an affinity for Makerspaces and what they have to offer. Growing up in more rural communities I did not have any many formal maker spaces, but seeing what spaces exist, I almost feel like a kid again.
In searching for local Maker spaces (in Edmonton) I can across http://www.startupedmonton.com/index.html which is interesting in that they have many programs and seem very geared to helping entrepreneurs and startups as well as providing a place for people to meet and network. At a price of $150/Month I may not be jumping on board right away, but I will definitely consider it.
I think that a Maker space similar to the one above would be a great addition to our community and it does seem to have a fairly reasonable price tag. I am interested in many different maker areas, so everything looks appealing.
At $150 a month, it needs to be something you are sure you will use. I agree, it can be a really great habit to have, but not everyone has room in their budget for something like this. I always think back to high school and how some of my friends would have absolutely excelled with this stuff. Some of my friends that are machinists at the moment are brilliant, but they are stuck producing one particular item, maybe having a membership to a makerspace would open their eyes and they could eventually come back to enjoying playing with their toys. Just a few thoughts from me, thanks for your post jetz66!
Thanks for bringing this up; I was completely unaware that such places existed. I have been to some specialized maker spaces, where you could go and rent a photo lab or studio for a few hours. You could get some technical assistance from the attendant and could sometimes make contact with other artisans, but it lacked the ambiance of collaboration and open space depicted in the video. All these tools made me drool!
I live in small rural community of 2,500 people, where there are many very crafty and handy people, many of which have their own studios or shops. We also have a skills center that offers a variety of course from introductory computer classes to pottery and exotic cuisine. The skills center is not quite a maker space, as people sign up for courses where the making opportunities are rather limited . The fact that our skill center is underutilized is an indication that a makers space in our community would be a risky venture. That being said, I think there is a niche for a certain type of “making”. Despite the resourcefulness of the people in the community, there is a lack expertise in the use of digital tools. As the high school media teacher, I regularly get requests for help with website building, and the production of a variety of audio-visual projects. The school’s equipment is rarely used outside of class time and there is considerable expertise among the student body. I’m thinking that opening up the digital media production space in our school, even for one or two days a week, could benefit the school and the local population. You got me thinking!
Wow, that’s fantastic to hear. It sounds like your community might need your help and it would be a great experience for your kids as well. Are there other towns not too far away that might benefit as well? Our presentation focuses on a rather big makerspace project, but there is no reason it can’t be implemented on a small scale. Thanks for the post Sylvian!
I’ve been aware of makerspaces for some time from seeing a program about them on TV. They appear to be mostly focused on prototyping for industrial production since the cost of the required machinery can be quite steep and not affordable by the individual.
The concept is a good one and could be applied in education.
I am in the process of advertising free tutoring sessions if students can provide their own tablet so I can begin to experiment with blended tutoring. I have created a blog inviting participation of like-minded educators. The idea is to create a community in pursuit of practical app integration in blended instruction based on authentic experience with students.
See my brand-new blog at: http://esl.nshore.vanc.ca/tutoring/2013/10/29/technology-is-creating-new-opportunities-for-innovation-in-education/
Anyone interested in collaborating?
Hello David,
Thank you for outlining your concept and providing the link for us! (Note, I changed your link as noted in your reply, sorry that we are unable to activate user-editing on UBC blogs). Are you conducting this as an action research project, or are you possibly considering it as an ongoing venture? Or is it too early to tell?
As a Language Monitor here in Quebec, I would be interested in knowing more about your project, but because I’m nowhere near Vancouver’s North Shore, I’m not sure if your program design would allow direct involvement. However – let’s chat!
Hi Nicola,
It’s intended as a research project that will terminate at some point in time when we feel confident of having a good grasp of methods, apps and suitability. Collaboration does not have to be local, but could involve trying out new apps, lesson sharing and testing etc.
Students will be made aware of the experimental nature of the program due to the possibility of volatility in delivery but we’ll use the feedback as conversation opportunities.
Hi again David,
Interesting, thank you! I will inquire at my school about the possibility of exploring this project, and send you an email at the address listed on your blog.
Nicola
During a search for makerspaces in my city I found Victoria Makerspaces http://makerspace.ca and was thoroughly impressed. It seemed to have the same type of equipment that the makerspace in the overview video had. People can take advantage of 3D printing, a biology lab, laser printing, metal and wood shops. The website mentions everything from blacksmithing to gardening to programming microprocessors. I would suggest that an ideal Victoria makerspace would have similar capabilities. It would have the resources necessary to accommodate a range of interests and needs. Tools needed for programming and coding would be increasingly in demand, however tools for scientific inquiry, horticulture, home and auto repair and equipment for outdoor activities would also be of interest to many in the city. It would be wise to connect these makerspaces with the growing tech community in the city as well as to the three post secondary institutions as well.
This is a very fascinating platform for new ideas to develop. It is collaborative and driver by the interests of users. It would be very interesting to see these sorts of spaces appear more frequently in K-12 environments.
Actually, schools seem to be one of the biggest developers of makerspaces. They are generally not publicized nor open to the pubic because of child safety issues but they are growing in popularity. Another space that is really big on developing makerspaces, especially in the US are libraries, as they are becoming more obsolete. I don’t know about other places in Canada, but Calgary libraries, given that they are some of the most used libraries in North America, don’t face the same issues and so probably haven’t looked at these spaces as a way to attract members.
Answering your question, I compared 2 places: Cairo – Egypt where I am originally from and Munich- Germany, where I currently live.
I am not aware of any makerspaces in Cairo, as others said there are organizations such as clubs, guilds and NGOs that could be a bit similar to makerspaces but none would qualify to be one.
I would say the type that would fit the best and could provide an successful example in a rather short-time would be the not-for-profit makerspaces especially ones focusing on crafts like pottery, leather work, etc.. and those focusing on technology, though they would attract 2 different types of members/ customers. The first will attract craftsmen who are actually losing market in a modern economy and maybe some people who are interested in learning from well-experienced craftsmen whose families mastered this work for generations. The latter would attract more middle and upper class youth interested in technology and its application and who actually can support having a space equipped with state of the art technology.
Since the community is generally well-aware of the non-profit organizations model, they would be able to understand and accept the model easily and quickly.
I can see small NGOs that are working on to promote small and medium enterprises (SMEs) moving more into the makerspace category by joining forces and sharing resources. I would say this would have a huge impact on the development of their activities since they can share marketing and sales expertise which most of them have problems with.
As for Munich: I was not aware of any in Munich, but with a quick search, I found Fablab Munich (http://www.fablab-muenchen.de/) website is in German, but basically they are registered as a non-profit organization depending on membership fees, sponsorship from companies, and individual donations. They have a 3D printer, laser cutter, an electronic section, etc…They offer workshops/ courses for nonmembers. In a nutshell very similar model to the ones you are covering. The interesting thing is that they are trying to reach school kids through partnering with schools and conducting workshops for kids in their schools. In addition, they set a specific date for kids to meet and use the makerspace.
Taipei Hackerspace is quite an interesting learning community mostly focused on creating funny electronic gadgets such as annoying screaming lights based on 555 timer IC. Even at times when they need donations, they create innovative and fun ways of thanking their donors by showcasing something like a donation jar that visually shows the coin collection process with LED lights illuminating on the jar, quite fun eh?
Taipei Hackerspace is probably the first type of its kind to own both a physical location and a virtual community (http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Taipei_Hackerspace) in Taiwan, something very few Makerspaces communities attempt at. While similar companies all offer only a physical setting to benefit from the dense Taiwanese population, Taipei Hackerspace offers not only a physical setting but also connects with the world via the internet. Simply, it is a unique and hybrid community that features its program in both English & Mandarin. It was founded by both Caucasians and Taiwanese who are all used to working in many different disciplines, which include past NASA engineers, business people and journalists etc. These people work for a common purpose, which is to combine what they know and integrate it in its most effective way to help their peers learn. While these activities are still in their initial stage, they look like they are headed towards the right direction.
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