This Wired documentary clip talks about the origins of the Maker Movement and it's uptake in Shenzhen China.
Maker culture is the ultimate in informal learning as a group of tinkerers, hackers, and builders who want to better understand the world by making things in it.
Maker projects can be born out of the want to create something to solve a problem despite not having resources to buy a product that solves that problem for you. This maker has solved the problem of noise cancelling headphones in a unique way.
John Collins, who's day job is in television production, is the current holder of the world record for the longest paper airplane flight.
Try out his World Record Paper Airplane or one of the others here. Make one of them for your DIY project if you'd like at home!
Making and fixing things is not a new concept. The DIY Learning aspect comes from the medium of open and accessible video guides to help you solve problems as they arise.
Dad How Do I is a great example of this idea and was created to address the fact that the traditional family model is becoming less and less common and the knowledge exchange that goes on in that model is likewise less front-of-mind.
This playlist (make sure to press the playlist button at the top) has a whole heap of DIY projects. While not all involve making things, they are all exemplars of DIY Learning in the realm of life-skills. Take a look, you will likely find something there that you can use.
While not necessarily something a beginner might take on, here are some of the top pre-pandemic maker projects.
These are the pinnacle where some of the best makers are working right now.
This video is supplemental to this conversation but is worth a bookmark if you are the sort of person who may be thinking about starting a makerspace.
It talks about the process of setting one up as well as the huge shift in teaching philosophy most teachers need to go through to make this a reality.
Take the paper airplane activity above and make one of the airplanes from John Collins' collection.
Post pictures and a description of what you learned in the Padlet below.
OR
Use of the Dad How Do I? videos above to solve a problem around your house.
Post pictures and a description of what you learned in the Padlet below.
OR
Find a Maker (of repair) project around your house that you've been dying to finish. Find a resource to help you out and finish that task.
Post pictures and a description of what you learned in the Padlet below.
Oh, you're still here...
That makes you the kind of person who wants to explore for the pleasure of it.
Enjoy a tour of Artisan's Asylum, one of the best makerspaces in North America hosted by Mythbuster's Adam Savage.