Elementary Library Makerspace Resources created with the amazing and inspiring Colleen Graves!
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Elementary Librarians to Follow
| Librarian/Twitter | Blog | Library or School District |
|---|---|---|
| Andy Plemmons | Expect the Miraculous | Barrow Media Center |
| David Saunders | DesignSaunders | The Greenwich Country Day School |
| Shawna Ford | Continuously Learning in the Library | Formerly at Curtis ES Library, now Future Ready Learning Coordinator |
| Nancy Jo Lambert | McSpedden Elementary Library Makerspace | Former ES, now Reedy High School Library |
| Cynthia Alaniz | Librarian in Cute Shoes | Coppell Isd |
| Todd Burleson | A Zen Librarian | Hubbard IDEA Lab |
| Molly Magro | (Not blogging yet, but great Twitter feed!) | |
| Tina Beruman | Cannon Reads | Cannon Elementary School Library |
| Nan Stifel | CHS Short Stacks | Concord Hill School |
| Tracy Rice | Elementary LibGuide | Leanderisd |
| Collette J. | A Wrinkle in Tech | Spring Ridge Elementary School Library |
| Donna Macdonald | Orchard School Library Makerspace | Orchard School Library |
| Heidi Neltner | Learning in Progress | Johnson Elementary Library |
BEST Resources for Elementary School Makerspaces
| Makerspace Centers in 40 Minutes – Blog post by Mrs. J in the Library about offering makerspace and/or STEM activities on a fixed library schedule. | Makerspace Library Centers on TpT by Mrs. J in the Library – littleBits™ circuits, plus FREE littleBits™ 101 Task Cards, – GoldieBlox™ building, – Marble maze building, – FREE Coding Center, – Paper circuits, – Electric sewing, – Journal making, and others | Circulating Maker Kits – Blog post by Mrs. J in the Library on different kits students can check out, including free MARC records |
| More Circulating Maker Kits on TpT by Mrs. J in the Library – GoldieBlox™ building, – Marble maze building, – Paper circuits, and – Electric sewing | Maker Bridge – “community for anyone interested in makerspaces, especially in libraries and schools.” | Makerspaces.com – This guy has a pretty great Twitter feed, can’t wait to see what the webpage is like! |
| Tinkerlab– Lots of great Science experiments and art activities. | K-12 Fab Labs & Makerspaces Google Group (heavily skewed towards secondary, but still lots of great ideas & colleagues) | K-12 Fab Lab & Makerspaces Resource Website |
| STEM Challenges – Bundle on TPT | 50 STEM Activities for Kids – mostly Pre-K through K/1 | Engineering is Elementary – Engineering Curriculum developed by the Museum of Science in Boston. Lesson ideas by grade level! |
| Make It! @ Your Library – Website for public libraries, but has MANY low-tech, low-cost projects | DIY.org – A whole website of projects for young students to do and share with the community, has badges for levels and achievements. |
Great Pinterest Boards
Also, check out Mrs. J in the Library’s project and material-specific Pinterest boards:
- Coding – School Makerspace
- Paper Projects and Origami – School Makerspace
- Maze Building – School Makerspace
- Electricity and Circuits – School Makerspace
- Paper Circuits – School Makerspace
- Electric Sewing – School Makerspace
- No Space for a Makerspace – Circulating Maker Kits
FREE Resources
- MARC Records for Circulating Maker Kits by Mrs. J in the Library (right column, bottom)
- littleBits™ 101 Task Cards by Mrs. J in the Library
- Learning to Code Library Center (for Scratch™, ScratchJr app, or Lightbot™ app) by Mrs. J in the Library
- DIY Paper Circuits Tutorials from Blink Blink
- Beginner Paper Circuits from Chibitronics
- Tinkering Fundamentals from Exploratorium
- Instructables– You can even search for projects by material type!
- Public Library in Duxbury, Massachusetts
- Stop Motion Animation from Tinker Lab
- 100 Engineering Projects for Kids from The Home School Scientist
- 100 Super Fun STEM Resources for Kids from Raising Life-Long Learners
STEM Facilitators in Elementary Schools
Amazing Professors teaching Teachers and Librarians
| Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager, Authors of “Invent to Learn” | Invent to Learn website |
| Kristin Fontichiaro | Kristin Fontichiaro’s Blog – Active Learning |
| Make to Learn (Twitter) | Make-To-Learn Initiative website |
| AnnMarie Thomas, Author of “Making Makers” | Squishy Circuits project website |
| Dr. Leah Buechley, Author of “Sew Electric” | Leah Buechley website |
Homeschool Resources
- The Maker Mom
- Learn Play Imagine
- Frugal Fun For Boys
- Tinker Lab
- Creekside Learning
- Educator’s Spin On It (50 STEM activities for Kids)
Great Articles
- Design Thinking projects for ES – Edutopia
- What does the Next Generation School Library Look like? – Mind Shift / KQED
- Socially Conscious Maker Movement– PSFK
- MAKE’ing More Diverse Makers – EdSurge (highlighting Dr. Leah Buechley’s excellent keynote speech, which is well worth a listen despite the strong language)