Scott Family Amazeum to Serve as Hub in New Making in Schools Initiative Funded by Google
Google is partnering with Maker Ed and the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh to support an innovative hub model that sustainably integrates making in schools
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (Sept. 13, 2016) As part of Making Spaces: Expanding Maker Education Across the Nation, a nationwide program supported by Google, the Maker Education Initiative (Maker Ed) and the Childrens Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP) are partnering with Scott Family Amazeum to provide local schools with guidance, professional development and support to jumpstart and sustain maker education in classrooms. The Amazeum is excited to be building on the enthusiasm for maker education that is surging across the country and in Arkansas, especially Northwest Arkansas. In particular, Amazeum will tackle the crucial topic of fundraising, working closely with local schools to launch a crowdfunding campaign, which will then help to fund makerspaces and maker programs in these schools.
Other confirmed hubs for the 2016-2017 school year include: KID Museum in Bethesda, MD; Edventure Childrens Museum in Columbia, SC; Albemarle County Public Schools in Charlottesville, VA; Digital Youth Network at DePaul University in Chicago, IL; Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, VT; and San Mateo County Office of Education in Redwood City, CA. An additional hub will be determined this fall.
CMP piloted a year-long run of the program in 2015-2016 with 10 schools in Southwestern Pennsylvania that collectively raised more than $100,000 to launch maker education in their schools. Based on lessons learned during this pilot phase, CMP is designing a toolkit that will allow hubs to effectively train schools in creating crowdfunding campaigns. We are thrilled to be able to scale this program to the national level to get more youth the resources needed to start tinkering, creating and making, says Jane Werner, Executive Director of Childrens Museum of Pittsburgh. A unique program that began in our region can now be run by the Scott Family Amazeum to benefit youth in Northwest Arkansas.
Maker Eds Executive Director Trey Lathe adds, "Schools are increasingly interested in maker education and establishing youth maker programs and spaces, but don't always have access to the training, resources, and community of support they need. We are excited that Scott Family Amazeum will be working to expand that energy and momentum in a similar model in Arkansas."
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About the Scott Family Amazeum
The Scott Family Amazeum is a hands-on, interactive museum for children and families in Northwest Arkansas. Located at the intersection of J Street and Museum Way in Bentonville, the Amazeum experiences include a climbable tree canopy, indoor cave, the 3M Tinkering Hub, and nearly one acre of outdoor space. For more information about the museum, visit amazeum.org.
About Maker Ed
Maker Ed is a nonprofit organization that provides educators with the training, resources, and community of support they need to facilitate engaging learning experiences with youth through maker education -- a hands-on, youth-driven, and open-ended learning approach. Through this work, Maker Ed plays a national leadership role in both broadening access to and deepening the impact of maker education for youth. Maker Ed is a project of the Tides Center, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit public charity. For more information, visit the Maker Ed website and follow @MakerEdOrg for updates.
About Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
Childrens Museum of Pittsburgh welcomes more than 302,500 visitors annually and provides real stuff experiences for play, learning and fun. The Museums permanent exhibit MAKESHOP® was built in 2011 to create a space for children and families to make, play and design using the same materials, tools and processes used by professional artists, builders, programmers and creators of all kinds. The Museums maker-focused initiatives include serving as a Maker Corps site for the Maker Education Initiative, Mobile MAKESHOP, Youth Maker workshops, MAKEnight (21+) events, and presenting Maker Faire Pittsburgh 2015 and 2016. For more information, visit www.pittsburghkids.org and follow @pghkids.
About Googles Making & Science
Making & Science is an initiative from Google to inspire future scientists and makers. Learn more about our programs, events, media, and the new Science Journal app at makingscience.withgoogle.com.
