BMS Students Explore Individual Interests at New Media Center Makerspace

October 15th, 2020 | Dave Strang

Bluffs Middle School students are exploring their individual interests at the new Media Center Makerspace.

Makerspaces are places students can collaborate with other students with similar learning interests and work projects that promote student creativity, innovation, design and engineering.

BMS Media Specialist Erin Shaddick told KNEB News the Makerspace projects are designed to help students make the connection between school concepts and activities they enjoy.

The projects have a major emphasis on STEM in academics and are based upon student interest.

At BMS, Shaddick says students have the opportunity to sign up for Makerspace use. Makerspaces are designed to take 3-4 days to complete depending on student progress with the project. When students complete a Makerspace project, they leave the BMS Media Center with something they created.

Examples of projects students are currently working on include robots that write on dry erase tabletops and Spirograph greeting cards.

Shaddick said the BMS Makerspace was funded through a Scottsbluff Public Schools Foundation Classroom Grant. Her hope is that the concept will expand into something bigger as time goes on and students become familiar with it. She says one of her goals is that some of these Makerspaces will align with whats going on in the classroom so that teachers can use them during class times.

Shaddick says right now they are just in the phase of introducing it to kids so they know what it is, and then they will start introducing it to teachers so they can talk to her about what they think would be useful in the classroom and she can collaborate with them.

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