INTERACTIVE MOBILE STEAM AND LITERACY KITS

"If you build it, they will come." - Field of Dreams

You've designed a nurturing learning environment, and have developed a dynamic library program, but you still haven't been able to connect with some of your colleagues.  Most likely you've been told that these teachers don't have the time, but it could be that they aren't ready to leave their comfort zone.  When I was a middle school librarian, I was fortunate that our school had study hall periods, and most 6th graders had study halls built into their schedules.  This gave me the opportunity to work with students who wanted to visit the library on their own time.  With a flexible middle school schedule, library visitations were with by student choice or scheduled by classroom teachers.

Our library already had a makerspace that I was proud of, but how could I get those students and teachers interested in it if they had never visited it before?  Just because I built it didn't mean that everyone would come.

So I decided to create STEAM makerspace kits that teachers could borrow for their classrooms.  The kits were low tech (KEVA planks, Legos, sewing, coloring) and a few electronics (Snap Circuits and 3Doodler).  Each kit also included a related book to promote literacy.  For example, a kit would include a K'nex Levers and Pulleys set with Archimedes: The Man Who Invented the Death Ray.​

Each kit included a Flipgrid QR code so the students could record their reflections while using the hands-on activity and/or reading the book.  In this way, many more students and their teachers learned about the library program and the other activities we had to offer.  Here are some suggestions for creating your own interactive mobile STEAM and literacy kits:

1.   Funding - Reach out to your school's parent association. Write a grant through DonorsChoose.org, PledgeCents, or AdoptAClassroom.org.  I was able to use Scholastic Book Fair rewards points to purchase book and makerspace items from their catalog.
2.  Advertising - Create a list of kits and share through your website, emails, and brochures.
3.   Circulating - Catalog these items if you decide to circulate them through your computer system, or create a way to track usage.
4.   Managing - Recruit student assistants or "techsperts" to advise you about what to purchase, to help you organize the kits, and to deliver them to the classrooms.
5.  Extending - Consider circulating these kits for home use, to develop connections with families.  These kits may be the only opportunity that your students have for participating in hands-on activities.

Remember...if you build it, they might not come.  So, go out to them! 

​How have you used mobile makerspace kits in your library or classroom? I'd love to hear YOUR story!