Making Spaces Partnerships

As part of Making Spaces: Expanding Maker Education Across the Nation, a nationwide program supported by Google, the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) is partnering with the Maker Education Initiative (Maker Ed) and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP) to provide local schools with guidance, professional development and support to jumpstart and sustain maker education in classrooms.

These maker spaces will give students exposure and access to the topics ranging from making and design to coding and robotics, among others. By providing an environment more flexible than that of a traditional classroom, students are better able to direct their own learning, solve problems that matter to them and develop the creative confidence they need to succeed beyond school.

To be selected for the cohort, SMCOE asked schools to commit to a number of actions, including participating in ongoing professional development with SMCOE, designing and implementing a maker-related education opportunity or space and contributing to research and evaluation efforts for maker education.