Makerspaces may be one of the most exciting elements on any school’s campus. But a lack of focus around culture and gender inclusiveness are stunting its true promise, according to a new report out of Drexel University.
The report, appropriately titled “Making Culture,” is the result of about a year’s worth of interviews and site visits to around 30 different makerspaces across 12 urban regions. The goal wasn’t to count the number of 3D printers or robotics clubs, but rather to take a more “ethnographic” view of the phenomena, says Youngmoo Kim, the director of Drexel’s ExCITe Center and an author of the study.
Kim and his fellow researchers analyzed cultural aspects of the…
