Main illustration by Natalie_. Maker supplies by: Ksenia Zvezdina; Svetlana Chernova; and Bigmouse108. All Getty Images. |
In a typical day at Glendale-Henderson Elementary School’s library in Madison, WI, kindergartners through fifth graders tinker and build in the Fostering Active Brains Lab, or FAB Lab—a STEAM makerspace with rotating hands-on learning stations. Students may choose to build a domino run, code Ozobots, craft a musical instrument to conduct a soundwave experiment, weigh animal skulls from the local nature center, or try a new spotlight station introduced each week.
“Sometimes when people come in, they think it looks like chaos,” says Sara Milewski, a teacher specializing in STEAM makerspaces at the school. “But once you stop and look, you’ll see they’re all pursuing something that they are genuinely…