About
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Who We Are
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The Foundry represents a S.T.E.A.M. Makerspace situated in four locations: Downey Elementary, Camp Curtin Academy, Marshall, and SciTech High School. The Foundry is a capacity building initiative which is a non-profit component of Partnership Planners, LLC. The Foundry coordinates Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (S.T.E.A.M.) projects that captures student’s imaginations and inspire them to test, refine and develop their leadership skills as they apply their knowledge alongside local experts and practitioners in an authentic community-based context called a “Maker Space”. Interest-based projects peak student’s curiosity and interest in learning while teachers and coaches prepare students for life and work in the 21st Century. The Foundry cultivates leadership habits in students that position them to flourish in college and/or careers. Through rigorous and challenging projects, Foundry teachers and coaches bring out student's character, teamwork and discipline.
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What is a Makerspace?
The Foundry is building off of the makerspace movement. A makerspace is a physical location where people gather to share resources and knowledge, work on projects, network, and build. Makerspaces provide tools and space in a community environment—a library, community center, privateorganization, or campus. The makerspace—sometimes referred to as a hackerspace—is often associated with fields such as engineering, computer science, and graphic design. The concept emerges from the technology-driven “Maker Culture,” associated with Make magazine and the Maker Faires it promotes. This idea of a collaborative studio space for creative endeavors has caught hold in education, where the informal combination of lab, shop, and conference room form a compelling argument for learning through hands-on exploration. On campus, the makerspace is being embraced by the arts as well as the sciences, and a new energy is building around multidisciplinary collaborative efforts.
Makerspaces are often open for informal, unscheduled activity; in some cases, an organization will host scheduled classes in a makerspace. As the notion of providing space for project design and construction has caught on in education, such places have acquired other accouterments, from paints and easels and impromptu stage sets to cooktops and candy molds. Used by students, faculty, and staff, makerspaces have become arenas for informal, project-driven, self directed learning, providing workspace to tinker, try out solutions, and hear input from colleagues with similar interests.
Makerspaces are zones of self-directed learning. Their hands-on character, coupled with the tools and raw materials that support invention, provide the ultimate workshop for the tinkerer and the perfect educational space for individuals who learn best by doing. Where these spaces are open to use by faculty, students, and staff from a cross-section of content areas, they promote multidisciplinary thinking and learning, enriching the projects that are built there and the value of the makerspace as an educational venue. Makerspaces allow students to take control of their own learning as they take ownership of projects they have not just designed but defined. At the same time, students often appreciate the hands-on use of emerging technologies and a comfortable acquaintance with the kind of experimentation that leads to a completed project.
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