1. Making MAKESHOP
Designing Making
Experiences with
Families

2. Quick Introductions
Jane Werner
Lisa Brahms
Drew Davidson
Dale Dougherty
and ETC graduate students

6. MAKESHOP Partners

7. The
MAKESHOP
Idea:
Opportunity and Response
• Growth of media-rich informal learning
environments for youth
• Children’s Museums: Growing focus on 0-5
years.
• Visitor Study: Children 7+ 30% of audience
• History of Practice: Studio & Curiosity Lab
• Pittsburgh: Kids+Creativity Network; CMU;
University of Pittsburgh; Artist/Maker
Community

8. Vision for MAKESHOP
• Target demographic: children, ages 8-12
• DIY + Digital Media
• Highly facilitated
• Design process: ideation, prototyping, iteration,
reflection
• Entry Point: “What do you want to make
today?”
• Scaffolded experiences for exploration and
innovation with old and new technologies

9. Front End Research
Parent Perspective of New and Traditional
(DIY) Media
Parents of Children 8+
Context: Children’s Museum
• Parent and Family Activity
• Parent Belief
• Learner Positioning
(Ito, et al, 2010; Barron, 2006;
Barron et al, 2009; Choing, 2009)

10. Which areas of the Museum do older
children enjoy most and why?

11. Roles and Value of Experience
/ / r What parents value highly in
.
" h
Museum-based family activity:
w l
Experiences that enable
h r
• Creativity
/
• Parent-Child Co-Learning
/ w • Collaboration
r
/ w
w

12. Prototyping MAKESHOP
Designing with our Visitors

13. ElectricShop

14. SewShop

15. WoodShop

16. MAKESHOP

17. Exhibits are:
Flexible
Simple and Intuitive
Inspire and Support
Collaboration &
Co-activity
Enable Multi-Leveled &
Open Ended Use
Accessible
Sustainable
Facilitation:
Meets learners where
they are
Leverages the family unit
(differentiation of role
and skill)
Scaffolds through
Materials, Tools,
Processes and Ideas
Designing MAKESHOP

22. Family Learning, Processes & Shifting Roles

25. Stuff

26. Processes

27. Meet the Makers

29. Making with Constraints

30. The Hannah-Occupier

31. ETC Projects
2 Semesters to date

32. Digital Dream Lab
• Can we teach children to program?
• Tangible programming blocks
– Hello, world!
– Beginner blocks:
• Show Me, Object, Color, Action

33. Digital Dream Lab

34. Digital Dream Lab
• Can we teach children to program?
• Provide framework that allows for
exploration and story telling
• Learning objectives
– Provide context for a new language
– Create a system based on block relationships
and cause and effect

36. Family Learning
Productive Participation Patterns
Making with the Young Child

37. h
•
• h t

41. www.makeshoppgh.org

42. Questions, Comments
& Discussion
• Consideration of Context
• Integration of Digital Media
• Others…

43. www.makeshoppgh.org