During the month of January, Aldo Leopold Charter School 6-12th grade students have been enjoying their very own MakerSpace, an after-school program in which students let their creative juices run wild with guided and unguided tinkering in low-tech to high-tech media.

Aldo Leopold thus joins a rapidly growing national MakerSpace and Maker Culture movement dedicated to encouraging inquiry-based exploration materials ranging from yarn, duct tape, newspaper, egg cartons, paracord, and hot glue to computer programming, digital music, and 3-D printing. Maker culture has attracted the interest of educators worldwide concerned about students' disengagement from STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in formal educational settings. Maker culture helps schools present subjects in new ways that are more alive and relevant to learners, encouraging student participation and curiosity.

Maker Culture is consistent with Aldo Leopold Charter School's mission to provide an engaging and challenging educational program emphasizing direct experience, inquiry learning, stimulation of the creative process, and stewardship of our community and natural environment. A perfect fit for Aldo Leopold Charter School.

Students are free to create on their own, but they are also encouraged to teach their peers about the hobbies and skills they already enjoy. So far students have led workshops for their peers in knitting, duct-tape wallet making, egg carton rose making, origami, paracord bracelet making, hair and make-up techniques, and creative writing. In the high-tech sector student-led workshops have included: basic computer mechanics, making music with computer apps, and the basics of 3-D printer operation. This last project was made possible with a new 3-D printer funded by a STEM Innovation grant from the Freeport-McMoran Corporation.

Some self-guided projects have included building models with craft sticks and hot glue and clothing decoration. Students are looking forward to working with Aldo Leopold's AmeriCorps Member, Anatole Beffort, who helps coordinate the Grant County Youth Business Incubator Program. Beffort, a senior at the school, will help participants develop business ideas that will help raise funds for more MakerSpace materials. One idea the students have is to make and sell healthy popsicles for school lunch.

Aldo Leopold's MakerSpace program developed out of an Educator Innovator grant supported by the National Writing Project. This grant allowed English Teacher Catalina Claussen to attend a conference featuring the MakerSpace program. According to Claussen, "The results of MakerSpace have been astounding. It has been a pleasure to witness student collaboration to lead workshops that reach across grade levels and disciplines. Students marvel at the opportunity to explore in an unpressured environment where there are no grades or deadlines--simply teaching and learning from one another."

The Aldo Leopold Charter School Maker Space is open to all Aldo students grades 6 to 12 and meets on Wednesday afternoons from 3:45 to 5:45pm.