Breakerspace Intro & Safety
Sometime's It's Called The Makerspace, and
Sometimes It's Called The Breakerspace
Take-Apart Lesson Plan by the Creativity Lab
Lighthouse-Project-Guide-Take-Apart (1).pdfWe learned of this awesome learning activity a few years ago while shadowing at the Katherine Delmar Burke School in San Francisco. One of their wonderful Makery instructors led a class of Kindergarten girls through a guided thinking routine using photographs of deconstructed machines and objects collected by Todd McLellan in his beautiful book, Things Come Apart. We've brought our version of this activity to the Innovation Lab and it is a favorite activity among our students of any ages.
Using the steps below as a guide, practice the Project Zero thinking routine using some of Mr. McLellan's photographs. Then, read on for some safety measures to take before you start deconstructing something in your own home. Due to copyright, we cannot post any of his photographs here, but encourage you to visit his website and peruse the beautiful pictures he's posted there for all to see.
Project Zero, a subset of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, informs much of our work in our creative process, design thinking, and thinking routines in our Hawken Makerspaces. Their work in visible thinking helps us as educators find a gauge for creating environments that promote active learning and engaged student minds.
One of the simple routines we love, and frequently ask when learning about a design, concept, or object, is:
what are its parts?
what are the purposes of those parts?
what are the complexities?
To Get You Thinking...
Using these thinking routines as a guide, can you view Mr. McLellan's photographs and figure out what the object was that was taken apart? Which parts point the way? He has worked with everything from a pen to an airplane. How do you gain a sense of the scale of his photographs? Which parts that make up the object are complex? Which parts are simple? What are the reasons for these parts? This could lead to a rich family discussion about why things are built the way they are - and how tinkering with those complexities and pieces enables innovation.
Setting Up Your Breakerspace
Safety In The Breakerspace
We do not recommend working with anything that has a rechargeable battery or a screen; as some of these objects can hold a residual charge.
We do not recommend you work with larger items that have a motor or spinning blade (like an old lawnmower or snowblower!) because of possible tension that could be built up in the motor of that machine.
We have found the best items to start with have been old computer keyboards, broken plastic toys, or simple machine equipment that can come apart into multiple pieces, as they materials used to make these are generally safe.
Optional safety glasses might be helpful if working with parts you have to pry apart.
Optional gloves may be helpful if you are working with something that is oily, print cartridges, or soldered circuits/motherboards.
Set up a work station separate from where you typically would eat food
If able, cover your work station with light paper or a sheet. This helps you see small parts easier so they don't fall on the floor.
First things first, cut all external cords and remove any batteries. Hand these to an adult for disposal.
Save all tiny pieces in a plastic Ziploc so they do not end up in a younger sibling or pet's possession. You'll also need these for your photograph later.
Use caution when working with screwdrivers or a pry. You do not need to work fast.
Wash your hands whenever you leave your breakerspace activity.
Now You're Ready To Start Breaking!
Visit our Breakerspace Activity page to guide yourself through this challenge.
Take something apart so you can learn all about how it works.
Share your project and making photos with us!
Email to makerspace@hawken.edu to feature on our Instagram
Tag @HawkenFabPlay in your photos/ instastories