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By Douglas McCulloch
Hometown Weekly Staff
Students at Johnson Middle are enjoying building, designing and learning at a new makerspace that opened at the school recently.
The new classroom is loaded with tools and equipment to let students get creative, build and learn. The classroom features 3D design tools including a 3D printer and 3D pens, computers, electronics, robots and more.
“We have a lot of resources and things like 3D pens, electronics and a lot of resources you might see in a shop class,” said Johnson Middle principal William Hahn.
Hahn explained that the idea for the makerspace began at the end of the last school year. Makerspaces have been enjoying popularity in high schools, but are not as common in middle schools. Three Johnson Middle staff members wanted to change that.
Technology teacher Anne Marie Wyman, technology support staff member BJ Burke and media specialist Susan Stewart approached Hahn towards the end of the last school year with the idea of bringing a makerspace to Johnson Middle.
Hahn thought it would be a great thing to bring to the students of Johnson Middle. He noted that traditional shop classes have become quite rare in public schools, and wanted to bring back a place for students to learn hands-on building skills with a modern twist.
He began helping the staff members plan and construct the space. Hahn decided to shut down one of the middle school’s computer labs to make room for the makerspace, noting that the lab was no longer being used as much as it was in the past because of the district's investments in computers now allow computer labs to come to the classroom.
“The district has provided support to get the chrome carts, so the computer lab was not getting used,” Hahn said.
The makerspace officially opened at the beginning of the school year, and Hahn has been seeing interest grow throughout the year.
“The kids love it,” Hahn said “They all love the open space. We wanted to create a space that kids walk in and think ‘Wow, this is not a traditional classroom.’”
Currently, the makerspace is most heavily utilized during the school’s extension period. Several extension classes use the space, including the robotics class, Lego class, and the “Taking Things Apart” class, which allows students to dissect electronics and learn how they function.
Looking forward, Hahn is already thinking about new additions to the makerspace. He hopes to add more fabrication components to enhance student’s abilities to create. He is considering adding sewing machines first so that students can create clothing and learn about fabrics.
Douglas McCulloch is an editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at news@hometownweekly.net and followed on Twitter at @doug_mcculloch.
