The Magical Moving Makerspace

Every elementary school in the RCSD has a Makerspace. What exactly is a Makerspace? Makerspaces grew out of the Maker movement of the 2010s. Maker culture emphasizes learning-through-doing (active learning) in a social environment. The goal of having Makerspaces in schools is to foster greater understanding of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) by providing children with supported building opportunities.

The Osborn School had the District’s first Makerspace, funded by the PTO in 2015 and housed in a classroom adjacent to the Library/Media Center before moving to one of the old portable trailer classrooms. Teachers would sign up to use the room during the school day for particular projects. The Makerspace was also available as an indoor resource option for up to 20 students at a time and served as an afterschool club. Makerspaces at Midland and Milton Schools quickly followed.

In 2025, Amy Carman, the RCSD’s elementary STEM teacher, took over the District’s Makerspaces as the content specialist.  As such, she coordinates hands-on-learning experiences for all students on a rotating and sign-up basis. When Amy is at a particular school, the Makerspaces are her classroom, but when she’s not there, the spaces are available for teachers to book for use with their classes.

What kinds of STEM lessons does she offer? Amy has lots of activities planned that support and expand on every grade-level’s curriculum at particular points throughout the school year.  The activities for 1st and 2nd graders are 30-minute, whole-class adventures;  3rd and 4th graders’ activities take about 40 minutes with students working in small group stations. And lucky 5th graders see her as a STEM special once in the 6-day cycle -- her lessons for 5th graders support the Mystery Science units, the RCSD elementary science curriculum.  Kindergartners first see Amy in the spring after they’ve established school routines and are ready for their own STEM experiences. 

A typical Makerspace activity ties into what’s going on in the classroom. Some are one-day projects and others are held over two or more days. A recent visit to the Osborn Makerspace found Mrs. Brown’s 3rd graders making salt-dough trace fossils as part of a unit on dinosaurs.  2nd graders in Mrs. Napoleon’s class were working on prototype birdfeeder models reflective of their current unit of study on birds. And 5th graders were creating hydroponic plant pots related to their science unit on ecosystems and the food web. Amy said, “Students love being in these spaces - they are learning to think outside of the box, both metaphorically and physically. They can get their hands dirty, they can test out ideas to see what works, and they can make connections to what they are learning in their classrooms.”

And because not every student is familiar with makery, Amy had prepared a variety of STEM skills lessons that were ready to go for the start of the year to get students right into making and creating by learning to use different tools and trying some hands-on activities. Looking ahead, she has a long list of possible projects she is developing into complete ready-to-go kits that teachers can use when she’s not in the Makerspace -- everything from Mystery Science projects to science extensions that will further develop skills students are learning.  And the goal? That “students see themselves as STEM thinkers, as makers and collaborators.” She concluded, “It is an absolute joy to watch and I look forward to working with all Rye elementary students this year!”

3rd Graders Making Salt Dough Trace Fossil Models

2nd Graders Making Prototype Bird Feeders

5th Grade Hydroponic Plant Project