my role is to educate educators on teaching and learning, and to connect educators to each other and to learners, makers, and artists around the city. none of that would be possible without the partnership, toolkit, and guidance that Making Spaces provided for us."
Rebecca Millerjohn
Youth Services Librarian, Bubbler at Madison Public Library, Madison, WI
supported by
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (MA-04-12-0079-12, MG-00-14-0074-14, MA-20-16-0089-16, and MG-10-16-0073-16).
about the project
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is a pioneering leader in the field of maker education. Our portfolio of research and practice in this area spans more than a decade and is featured in many publications. We have studied how people learn in makerspaces, how facilitators can strengthen this learning, how to measure engagement with the making process, and more. The resources below share a selection of the products of this ongoing research agenda.
making as a learning process
At Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and New York Hall of Science, we engaged in a research initiative about the kinds of learning that happens at our museums around making. The goals of the research were to identify the kinds of learning that happens through making, called our Principles of Practice; describe and communicate this learning for the fields of informal learning research and practice; and recommend ways to design programs that support children’s and families’ engagement in this learning.
making + learning in museums & libraries: a practitioner's guide & framework
The goal of Making+Learning is to build the capacity of libraries and museums to create and sustain effective makerspaces and related programs for learning.
This project aims to share ways that we can nurture and grow conditions for learning within making experiences. We do this through a description of the framework, a collection of case studies that illustrate how making and makerspaces are being implemented around the country, as well as a suite of tools and resources intended to enable museum and library professionals to thoughtfully consider key elements of makerspace and program design to support learning and grow staff capacity.
Making+Learning is a cooperative agreement between the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The project is supported by thought partners from the Exploratorium, the Chicago Public Library, North Carolina State University Libraries and the Maker Education Initiative.
making observations: evidencing learning through making
Making Observations is a project of Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh with the Science Museum of Minnesota, Chicago Public Library and the Montshire Museum of Science to develop a suite of tools and resources with the aim of identifying, documenting and evaluating learners’ engagement in making as an informal learning process.
Making Observations was made possible through the support of the Institute of Museum & Library Services.
making spaces
Since 2016, the Making Spaces program has employed an innovative model pairing educational site partners with a nearby Regional Hub to jumpstart and sustain maker education through professional development, tools, resources and community engagement.
The program aims to sustainably integrate making into learning environments across the country.
Since it began, Making Spaces has engaged 31 Hubs, more than 200 schools, 350 educators and an estimated 26,000 youth.
Making Spaces is led by Maker Ed with support from Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh.
