![Ashlyn Akers and Aiden Hickman work with Snap Circuits, which teaches how circuits work. Students can create music, moving fans, alarms and light shows. [Photo by Steve Lindley, for The Oklahoman]](https://www.oklahoman.com/gcdn/authoring/2016/11/24/NOKL/ghnewsok-OK-5530821-e00a02db.jpeg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
Science instruction at one elementary school may be reaching new levels, thanks to an educational program called MakerSpace.
The setting is the James L. Dennis Elementary School in the Putnam City school district. Shantell Barbour, honored recently as a top teacher by the Oklahoma Technology Association, explained the concept.
“It allows students to problem-solve and think critically,” she said.
Barbour is a fifth-grade science teacher, but during the week, all grades explore the learning stations associated with MakerSpace.
It’s a true hands-on experience that helps students learn to be creative.
As balls called spheros roll around on the floor, students use mobile computer devices to control where they go.
Another application is called Osmo, a game system interacting with an iPad to help the fifth-graders learn skills such as vocabulary and drawing.
One of the Osmo users was DrewAnn…
