As shown in our mission statement, Parkway values curiosity and confidence in our students. Through the makerspace movement students have access and opportunity to engage in maker activities that may support STEM growth, stimulate creative thinking, reinforce collaborative development, and promote that ever important curiosity. This unique learning environment encourages tinkering, play, and open-ended exploration. In Parkway, makerspaces come in all shapes and sizes, structured and organic, but always with a particular purpose in mind that meets the needs of students in their learning community. These innovative spaces give students the opportunity to develop and enhance their mindsets to learn, collaborate, and innovate in a community setting where curiosity is embraced.

What is Parkway's Mobile Makerspace Program?

Parkway's Mobile Makerspace is a project meant to empower libraries, kickstart the maker movement, and minimize the risk of assembling a space and acquiring items. It gives schools an opportunity to experiment and prototype their own spaces and to think about how it might meet the needs of their communities. The available mobile makerspace kits are a way to bring awareness to new technologies, accelerate innovation in education, and reach new users. These kits are checked out through the librarian for one month at a time and for special building/district events, such as STEM night or other community events.

It's an opportunity for students to find the joy in learning and be engaged with collaborative explorations that are manageable and made visible to the school community.

Today's librarian is so much more than the "keeper of the books and information," they connect the dots for the entire learning community. The mobile makerspace is an opportunity for librarians to influence that community through innovative programming and approaches to learning. It creates a portal where the free exchange of ideas, information, and wonder come to life through collaboration with teachers, administrators and students.

How can schools acquire mobile makerspace resources?

• • Librarians will need to decide what they hope to accomplish by utilizing the kits? Are you going to collaborate and partner with a teacher, team, or department?

  • Explore the mobile makerspace kit request list to see what meets the needs of the community.

  • The librarian completes the mobile makerspace request form. This link is open to librarians only because of the logistics of organizing and delivering mobile makerspace kits. With the main contact person being the librarian in each building (32 librarians vs 2,000+ teachers), we are able to build capacity by providing student access to experiences and opportunities through the library portal.

  • Library Services will check the availability of the first-come, first-serve kits and notify recipients of the kits that will be coming to them for the upcoming month.

  • If training is needed, the Library Support Specialist or Digital Learning Specialist will provide the necessary guides to the librarian and the teachers that may be involved.

  • At the end of the month an email will be sent with the pickup date. At that time items need to be accounted for, neatly packed, and ready for the next request.

  • Once picked up the kits are inspected and redistributed for the next monthly request.