Amelia here. I am on the core YuKonstruct team, and designed the survey that so many of our makers kindly filled out. The survey was a great place to help us identify what our community wants to see in our makerspace, and relay this to our potential funding partners. It captured other information which we have started to follow up on now that we have a space. Things like, who is able to teach courses or donate tools. If you haven’t already, and want to take the survey, we’ve re-opened it. It can be found here: http://bit.ly/QPxuRJ
With my academic background in Community Development, the one thing that has interested me about makerspaces, is how to extend their reach. This is particularly relevant as I read the survey comments from those who were not in Whitehorse, but enjoyed the idea of YuKonstruct. So, in this post I want to share some of the resources I feel could be helpful for rural communities to introduce the makerspace culture into schools, libraries, First Nations and community events.
Makeitatyourlibrary.org
This website is run by the maker site Instructables, and the American Library Association. It shares a range of projects searchable by age, materials cost, time and type that can help you find a cool maker activity to do within your means. It was created to help libraries transition into makerspaces, and offers lots of beginner projects to get kids and adults excited.
MakerCamp
Make Magazine offers MakerCamp on Google+. A free online maker summer camp July 7th to August 15th 2014. You register online, and order and pay for your own materials, depending on whether you are interested in just one project, or the entire summer camp. This year the weekly themes are; Makers In Motion, Create the Future, Health & Science, Art and Design, DIY Music and Make:Believe. New activities are posted each morning, then campers in teams from all around the world rush to make their projects. At the end of the day campers upload photos, video and learn from each other’s successes and challenges.
Makerspace.com
If you want more than activities or a camp to get the ball rolling, this site offers a complete and free guide to starting a makerspace in your community, the Makerspace Playbook.
Want to start a small town makerspace?
We’d love to hear from you! Drop us a line at info@yukonstruct.com
YuKonstruct still has a lot to learn, but we are also here to share knowledge and advice as we go!