Sponsored by East Baton Rouge Parish Library
Anyone can be a maker. Maker education is an approach that connects to all subject areas and embraces hands-on learning through designing and building. A community of do-it-yourselfers who tap into science, art, performance, creative reuse, and technology to make something fresh and useful.
Maker-centered learning teaches life skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. This fosters a maker’s mindset in students, developing their creative confidence and showing them that they have the ability to solve problems creatively, both on their own and together with their peers.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Library gets local makers making.
Anyone, student or an adult, can be a maker. For hands-on learners, kinesthetic learners, or artistic and creative thinkers, maker education offers the chance to learn in all different ways. The Library has several maker spaces available for the community to use.
The newest River Center Branch and the regional branches (Bluebonnet, Greenwell Springs and Jones Creek Libraries) all have dedicated community areas to create things, invent, and meet other people with similar interests.
There are real benefits to fostering a maker mindset in young people. When kids connect with the maker community’s culture of problem solving and creating, they learn new ways of thinking and collaborating.
In the maker space, it doesn’t necessarily matter if a student has high test scores or can memorize all of their spelling words. The learning isn’t targeted at students who excel in math or reading. The maker space provides an opportunity for every child to bring their personal strengths to the space and learn in a way that makes sense for them. This gives students a chance to shine in new and different ways.
It’s time for the 8th annual Mini Maker Faire.
From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, this is a venue for makers of all ages to connect with the community, share their projects, show off their creativity, and engage the public with their work. This year’s weeklong hybrid event, October 18 – 23, will celebrate makers, library maker spaces, & folks with a passion to learn new skills through interactive workshops, grab and geaux crafts, an outdoor maker market, a showcase of robotics excellence, and a celebration of terrible robots fighting sumo style. Stay in the know: visit batonrouge.makerfaire.com and connect on social media @BRMakerFaire.
