Meaningful Making: Projects and Inspirations for Fab Labs and Makerspaces

A learning revolution is in the making around the world. Enthusiastic educators are using the new tools and technology of the maker movement to give children authentic learning experiences beyond textbooks and tests. The Stanford University FabLearn Fellows are a group of K-12 educators working at the forefront of this movement in all corners of the globe. They teach in Fab Labs, makerspaces, classrooms, libraries, community centers, and museums-all with the goal of making learning more meaningful in the modern world.

In this book, the 2014-2015 FabLearn Fellows share inspirational ideas from their learning spaces, assessment strategies and recommended projects across a broad range of age levels. Illustrated with color photos of real student work, the Fellows take you on a tour of the future of learning, where children make sense of the world by making things that matter to them and their communities. To read this book is to rediscover learning as it could be and should be-a joyous, mindful exploration of the world, where the ultimate discovery is the potential of every child.

Contributing Authors: Jaymes Dec, Gilson Domingues, Christa Flores, Susan Klimczak, David Malpica, Roy Ombatti, Keith Ostfeld, Heather Allen Pang, Erin Riley, Tracy Rudzitis, Mark Schreiber, Susanna Tesconi, Nalin Tutiyaphuengprasert, Aaron Vanderwerff, and Juliet Wanyiri

Editors:  Paulo Blikstein, Sylvia Libow Martinez, and Heather Allen Pang