Maker Ed Participates in the National Week of Making

“During National Week of Making, we recommit to sparking the creative confidence of all Americans and to giving them the skills, mentors, and resources they need to harness their passion and tackle some of our planet’s greatest challenges.” – President Obama

Today, President Obama officially proclaimed June 17-23, 2016 as the National Week of Making.

During this week, organizations and individuals across the country are coming together to celebrate making, creating, innovating, and tinkering — and Maker Ed is no exception.

This morning, the White House shared several announcements about our work in its National Week of Making Fact Sheet, including the following:

• More than 1,400 schools, representing almost 1 million students from all 50 states have signed the Maker Promise — a collaborative campaign with Digital Promise that challenged school leaders to commit to (1) dedicating a space for making, (2) designating a champion of making, and (3) displaying what students make. Check out the full press release for more information.
• With the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, we will be launching the Practical Guide to Open Portfolios — a publication that draws from field research in Phases 1 and 2 of the Open Portfolio Project, and will present the findings in a way that is free and easily accessible to practitioners who are looking to begin or further develop facilitation of youth portfolios in their various educational settings.
• In partnership with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP), and with the generous support of Google, we will be creating a national training program that will pair educational spaces wishing to jumpstart maker education with hubs that can offer quality professional development services. These hubs will receive support from CMP and Maker Ed as they empower educational institutions and organizations to raise funds through crowdfunding, to support creating and outfitting makerspaces, and to train staff in maker education. Check out the full press release for more information.

In addition to these announcements, Maker Ed is also contributing to the National Week of Making by participating in several events in Washington D.C., including:

• National Maker Faire, June 18-19, 11am-6pm
  • Maker Ed and Cognizant will be hosting students and educators to showcase their projects and work at the Cognizant booth.
  • On June 18 at 12:15pm, Maker Ed’s Chief Maker Educator, Steve Davee, will be giving a talk on makerspaces and youth empowerment at the Make: Show & Tell Stage. Learn more here.
  • On June 19 at 4:00pm, Maker Ed’s Education Community Manager, Jessica Parker, will be sharing K-12 teacher perspectives on integrating maker education into the classroom at the Make: Show & Tell Stage. Learn more here.
• 2016 Capitol Hill Maker Faire and Panel, June 21
  • At 2:00pm, Maker Ed’s Jessica Parker will be participating on a panel on making and education in K-12 settings. Learn more here.
  • From 5pm – 8pm, Maker Ed will be sharing student work across the K-12 spectrum at the Capitol Hill Maker Faire.

We’re thrilled and honored to be taking part in the celebrations this week, and we hope that the National Week of Making furthers the conversation on the importance of making and its potential to help youth develop the skills, knowledge, and ways of thinking needed to influence their world.

For up-to-date information on our participation in the National Week of Making, follow @MakerEdOrg.