Makerspace is our unique STEM lab, a place where our elementary school students are given hands-on challenges, often open-ended, and expected to work in groups to design solutions. Students are introduced to the concepts of "failing forward," troubleshooting, and iterative design. Students approach all makerspace challenges in small groups and work collaboratively. Some recent examples of challenges include designing the fastest wind-up car and building platforms that can support a certain amount of weight. The makerspace is stocked with a range of tools and materials that students can use for their projects, and is guided by a dedicated makerspace teacher. The curriculum is based on a "design thinking" approach to learning where students identify a problem and collaborate to solve it creatively. It is important for students to learn that building involves many prototypes and lots of mistakes in order to achieve a solution. Our hope is that students not only master engineering skills but also teamwork, persistence, and problem solving!

You can hear our own makerspace teacher, Mrs. Cohen, discuss our makerspace on this episode of our YHTPoV podcast: