This is a guest post from Kasey Kohler, media specialist at Vandenberge Middle School. Read more about our Extended Mini Grant Program. This program is only available during the FY21 school year.

Vandenberge Middle School sends their sincere thanks to CMLE for their generosity in supporting a grant for updating our makerspace. It has been a fun journey of picking out materials based on student surveys and beginning to distribute them. 

Every step of the way we have had student input in decision making and we wanted to have the reveal be special.  In order to draw up the excitement before revealing all of the new materials we closed the makerspace and gave it a well deserved makeover. It definitely drew interest from our students as they tried to be patient. We have created three zones in our makerspace; play, create, and innovate. 

Creative projects have been the most popular and this is the area which we purchased most of our new supplies. Origami paper stars and the button makers have been two of the most sought after supplies. It is wonderful to see how our students represent themselves and showcase their talents to the world. Every day there are new students coming into the library asking about projects they have seen others create. 

The Sphero Minis have been gaining attention as well in our innovation zone.  Students are using materials we have had (such as the Keva Planks) and creating obstacles for each other. Although we enjoy seeing them expanding their knowledge and problem solving, most of the time we see students simply having fun and we love it. 

Without the help of CMLE, giving these opportunities to our students would have been more difficult. Their button artwork has inspired us, their duct tape fashion has made us smile, and their willingness to try new things and create connections to what they are learning in the classroom is the best. 

Thank you for your contribution. This update in our makerspace is coming at a time where students are just getting back to being able to do things together and we are overjoyed to be able to give them the chance to collaborate in a safe environment.