Below you will find information on the following in preparation for your visit:
Schedule & Agenda:
The Maker Ed Summer Institute is split into two parts. During the first two and a half days, you will deepen your understanding of maker-centered learning from the vantage point of one of three thematic strands: A) activity/curriculum design and facilitation, B) assessment & evaluation, and C) program planning & development. For the second half of the week, you’ll join others in identifying needs and problems of your maker educator community and collaboratively working to address them by creating tools, resources, and responses. Throughout, your strand explorations will be enhanced and supplemented by whole-group activities addressing equity and sustainability as well as facilitated opportunities to share your unique experience and expertise with other Institute participants. See below for an overview of the three thematic strands as well as a detailed schedule of the week.
- Activity/Curriculum Design & Facilitation (Strand A): Through a series of hands-on, minds-on activities, you will explore four foundational approaches to integrating maker-centered learning into your curriculum, in turn considering variables of activity design, strategies of facilitation, and blueprints of learning progressions, collections, or sequences.
- Assessment & Evaluation (Strand B): Alternating between wearing the shoes of an educator and a learner, you will engage different ways to make your learning, thinking, and process visible, all the while designing for ongoing, embedded, and multidimensional assessment.
- Program Development & Planning (Strand C): Departing from your own values and the values of the community your organization serves, you will adopt a wide-angle lens on your existing or ideal program for making, mapping and leveraging the key stakeholders and ingredients for creating sustainable and equitable programs.
Preparing for your visit:
What should I pack?
Pack layers! Some of our activities throughout the week will take place in the Maker Ed Community Studio’s beautiful backyard. Daytime temperatures in Berkeley in June can range from 60 to 70 degrees, depending on what time in the morning our enchanted fog burns off.
When I’m not on-site at the institute, what should I explore?
Berkeley and the surrounding Bay Area are known for their topographical beauty, as well as cultural and culinary diversity.
For example, you can go visit our friends at The Exploratorium on Pier 15 in San Francisco for their Thursday Evening After Dark exhibits or take a stroll through the illustrious Botanical Garden at UC Berkeley.
Check out pages 2 and 3 of this list for more ideas for lodging, eating, and things to do!
Travel & Arrival details:
We are located at 1808 Fifth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
Public Transit:
- BART – North Berkeley BART is the closest station. It is a 20 minute walk from the station to the Studio. For a shorter walk, take BART to Downtown Berkeley and then take the 51B bus.
- AC Transit – Buses on University, Gilman, San Pablo, and 6th St are the closest to the Studio. Use the AC Transit site to find one that works from your point of origination.
- Ferry Service – Tidelines offers a ferry service from San Francisco. Once you disembark the ferry, you can take the 51B bus to the corner of University and 6th and then walk 4 minutes to the Studio.
- Amtrak – Amtrak’s Capital Corridor route stops in Berkeley (BKY), which is approximately 3-4 blocks from the office.
Parking: Parking is freely available along 5th Street and 6th Street. However, please keep in mind that it may take a up to 15 minutes to locate a spot. The 4th Street shopping district is one street over, and peak times for local businesses and workdays tend to be in the morning and mid-day, so parking may be a bit harder to find during these times. Designated parking lots for 4th Street shopping often have a time limit or are for customers, and 4th Street typically has metered parking.
When you arrive, you will enter through the open wooden gate to the left of the building.