Unexected Makerspace Moments

This week I held our last schoolwide Makerspace for the year. It had been a busy week, so I didn't have much energy left to plan everything out perfectly, so instead, I simply gathered materials (which does take a lot of time!), some recent purchases, and opened the space.

To backtrack, when I posted my plans the previous day, one librarian asked what we were making. I replied, "I'm not sure! Whatever my students come up with!" I truly never know what they will make, and for me, that is the magic of it. Little did I know that this would truly happen!

In the middle of the hour, with a great showing of students from all grade levels working hard and having fun, three students walked in and joined us. I welcome them and told them I was happy to see them. They gathered a box and various other items from my supply table (I have had to move from a cart because we've outgrown it), and quickly engaged in a planning conversation.

After awhile, they called me over for help with something. That's when I started to interact with them in conversation, hoping to inspire more!

The final product was a Starbucks order just for me! The red Valentine heart box (recyclable materials I receive as donations to my Makerspace from teachers) contains crayon bits that represent chocolate. The green pieces are donuts (these were leftover dots from Dot Day that they cut a hole in the middle of). The red pieces are sprinkles made from cotton swabs -- painted with markers! 

The coffee cup is made from that corrugated paper separator used in chocolate candy boxes. The cardboard box contains my entire order!

When they were done, the students even created a receipt for me, complete with a barcode. When I asked about a teacher discount, they applied it. But I still "owed" $7 in our pretend purchase. :-) (This is where play comes in. See below.)*

I had such fun watching this making and interacting with the students as they planned and constructed. They enjoyed presenting it to me, and we even shared it on our morning announcements. 

What did I learn from this?

That beautiful moments happen in your library every day and you can see them if you're paying attention! 

That Makerspace isn't about the materials the students are using, but what they intend the product to be and, more importantly, the imagination they use to create the product in the first place! 

That play is an important part of makerspace!* For kids of all ages! 

What a great end to my Makerspace year! Can't wait to see what we come up with next year!