Mandurah Catholic College is hosting a Makerspace workshop for teachers from throughout the Peel region next week.
Makerspace is the term coined to encapsulate the idea of creating a place where students can re-purpose materials into new and exciting projects.
The concept was adopted at Mandurah Catholic College by Mrs Heather Brocklehurst, Assistant Head of Learning Area – Science, and Mrs Sarah Love, Head of Information Services, who are both passionate advocates of providing extended learning opportunities to students.
Makerspace’s inception at the College began almost 18 months ago, with the call being made for unwanted items that could be “pulled apart, sorted and used to create something entirely different”.
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A collection of old phones and computers, aluminium foil, nylon pantyhose, and other bits and pieces soon outgrew the trolley allocated for it and the need for a permanent Makerspace became obvious.
This year one of the College’s Science laboratories was fitted out to become the Makerspace base and now students spend many an industrious hour recreating amazing and innovative projects.
One example is the design and construction of video game controllers, called Makey Makeys, for National Science Week using foil trays, spoons, plasticine and fruit.
The controllers were then trialled by primary school students who were amazed that they could play a game using a Makey Makey and some fruit to control the game.
The Makerspace workshop will be presented in the form of small, informal professional development sessions explaining how to create, implement and manage Makerspaces.
There will be several presenters on the day, discussing a variety of different topics.
Mrs Sarah Love and Year 8 students Jerome Hilary-Nath and William Lambert of Mandurah Catholic College will explain how you can start and run Makerspace clubs, Heather Brocklehurst of Mandurah Catholic College will discuss the best ways to utilise Makerspaces in a secondary science setting, Jennie Richardson from Rossmoyne Primary School will show you how to set up and use Makerspaces in Primary Schools, and Sean Catterson, a member of the STEAM team at Mandurah Libraries, will teach you how your local library can assist your Makerspace.
Teachers interested in attending the Makerspace workshop and learning more on the inherent value of this innovative and forward thinking concept can register for the event at www.eventbrite.com.au/e/teachmeetwa-makerspaces-tickets-52150203663.
