In the good way, that is. We've been getting into the "Maker Space" idea for a while now, and today was my day to give up bystander status and plunge into it. On our children's floor we have a section of books we call the "maker collection"--kind of a "how-to" collection with ideas and instructions for making all kinds of neat things. To that we added a selection of make-and-take kits that people can borrow for four weeks to enjoy at home. They're mainly for kids, so I checked one out for my grandson Joey (who will be six in October). They come in a nifty transparent backpack with straps adjustable enough that I could (with help) slip it onto my back and strut around like some kind of maker-hiker. (That's our teen services librarian Karen Jensen in the background of the first picture.) It was so comfy I didn't want to take it off right away, so circulation clerk Annette Sells scanned it right from my back to check it out to me. In the last picture I'm proudly displaying my circulation receipt.
I don't know how Joey will like the kit I picked out for him--I'll find that out tonight--but I think it's pretty cool. It's called Tecno, and it consists of a plastic box, the lid of which is perforated like a peg board with holes into which you can screw the accompanying plastic screws and bolts. There are assorted other plastic pieces--nuts, washers, angle brackets and flat pieces--that you use to create flat or 3-D items. My favorite is a cute little helicopter. There are plastic tools to use on the plastic pieces, along with an instruction booklet (actually, more of a suggestion booklet) and two other books: Build Your Own Car, Rocket, and Other Things That Go, by Tammy Enz, and Auto Mechanics, by Cecilia Minden and Mary Minden-Zins.
We're working on plans for a much more ambitious maker space in what is now our teen hang-out space on the main floor. The new environs will include an array of gadgets and devices for public use, among them several desktop computers (loaded with programs like Minecraft, Microsoft Publisher, PowerPoint, Garage Band, etc.), a 3-D pen, a Raspberry Pi, an AccuCut die cutter, an iPad station with Osmos--just lots of neat stuff. Stay tuned. It should be awesome.
I don't know how Joey will like the kit I picked out for him--I'll find that out tonight--but I think it's pretty cool. It's called Tecno, and it consists of a plastic box, the lid of which is perforated like a peg board with holes into which you can screw the accompanying plastic screws and bolts. There are assorted other plastic pieces--nuts, washers, angle brackets and flat pieces--that you use to create flat or 3-D items. My favorite is a cute little helicopter. There are plastic tools to use on the plastic pieces, along with an instruction booklet (actually, more of a suggestion booklet) and two other books: Build Your Own Car, Rocket, and Other Things That Go, by Tammy Enz, and Auto Mechanics, by Cecilia Minden and Mary Minden-Zins.
We're working on plans for a much more ambitious maker space in what is now our teen hang-out space on the main floor. The new environs will include an array of gadgets and devices for public use, among them several desktop computers (loaded with programs like Minecraft, Microsoft Publisher, PowerPoint, Garage Band, etc.), a 3-D pen, a Raspberry Pi, an AccuCut die cutter, an iPad station with Osmos--just lots of neat stuff. Stay tuned. It should be awesome.
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