COLLECT + CONNECT

The makerspace at the Douglas Middle School Library in Box Elder, SD now houses both modern maker items and vintage pieces. Joining the whiteboard wall, the 3D printer, and the green screen are few antiques from the library storage room: typewriters, record players, and an opaque projector. Librarian Melissa Hubbell decided to add the older technology after a lightbulb moment during her annual inventory. There, in the storage room, sat the dusty items just waiting for a revival! Hubbell decided she’d try them out with her 8th grade students. And…they were a hit! Students did not know what the items were or how they were even used. This led students to conduct historical research discovering the what, when, why, and how of the vintage items. Honing in on creativity, HubbelI played Charlotte’s Web on the record player spurring students to use the typewriters to author their own rap songs and poetry. Indeed, Makerspaces can be unique, inexpensive spaces with old and new tec...

The Belle Fourche Middle School Library is making!  Utilizing a  Classroom Innovation Grant from the SD Dept. of Education, teacher- librarian Karen Schlekeway  has  transformed the library with a makerspace bringing more innovation to the school.  L ibrary staff teach STEAM encore classes to 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.   The classes have been a big hit with the students increasing their desire to learn.  Students use critical thinking to navigate through units of coding, engineering & design, circuitry, videography and different forms of energy.  They also research and develop art projects that spark creativity.  8th graders even get to solder their very own DIY drones!  Grant dollars funded a classroom set of iPads, two sets of Spheros and Ozobots, four 3D printers, seven sewing machines, and loads of STEM kits.