There are many factors contributing to this movement. Economic and social pressures are coupled with advances in technology such as the affordable Raspberry Pi units and 3D printing. Allied with open-source, knowledge-sharing principles, this accessibility has seeded pockets of innovation throughout the planet. Given the connectivity that we now have, thanks to the internet and social media, people all over the world are learning from one another and ideas are starting to get real traction.
Concepts such as Fab labs, which originated at MIT, now have a worldwide network where people can gain access to equipment and like minded people to fabricate their designs. This provides the opportunity for school-based inventors and entrepreneurs to get started like never before!
The popularity of the maker movement has seen the rise of Maker Faires and now Makerspaces are being set up sharing the ethos of the Fab labs.
The final element influencing this trend is education. STEM or STEAM are buzzwords that focus on the building blocks of making. Affordability of resources and changes in curriculum to include coding, 3D printing and biomimicry change the mindset of the next generation. If we can successfully integrate the wider maker movement into the education of our children the possibilities for innovation in the future are endless.
IMAGINE IT > MAKE IT
Has your school begun to embrace the maker movement? Tell us about your experiences in the comments!
