Amelia Earhart Elementary Is Creating a Makerspace

From H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation: As an International Baccalaureate school, Amelia Earhart Elementary administrators hold their students to high standards of inquiry-based learning. With a recent grant from the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, teachers and students will now have more resources for hands-on learning as they use the funds to reinvent the school’s library by transforming it into a Makerspace.

“A Makerspace is a collaborative work space for making, learning, exploring and sharing that uses a variety of tools and resources,” said Ann Morales, Principal of Amelia Earhart Elementary School of International Studies. “We’re so excited that we are able to evolve our library into a 21st century student-centered learning environment.”

The $25,000 Coachella Valley Spotlight grant will purchase engineering kits, large-format touch screens, flexible furniture, and storage compartments for the Makerspace supplies. In addition, the Desert Sands Unified School District is contributing to the Makerspace by updating paint and carpet in the area. That, combined with school site funds, will allow a full renovation of the facility. The shared school space will still include books, especially nonfiction. Throughout each week, students in grades K-5th will each have an opportunity to utilize the Makerspace with teacher instruction. Students will also have time to “make” on their own before and after school.

“The school is very resourceful to renovate a pre-existing space that can now offer students an opportunity for hands-on research and the use of cutting edge technology,” said Catharine Reed, Program Director for the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation. “I’m looking forward to going back and seeing the students in action in their new Makerspace.”

Makerspaces prepare students for college, career and life by providing them creative ways to design, experiment, build and invent as they engage in science, engineering and tinkering. A Makerspace often combines elements of a science lab, woodshop, and art room, which allows students to cross platforms instinctively.

“Teaching today’s elementary students is tricky, because we may not even know the jobs and fields that will be available to them when they reach career age,” said Jerry Upham, General Manager of Gulf California Broadcast Company, which owns and operates KESQ News Channel 3 and KPSP CBS Local 2. “Makerspaces are part of a transformation in education, and we’re excited we can participate in this collaborative project at Amelia Earhart Elementary.”

The Coachella Valley Spotlight partnership also offers recipients media exposure by featuring the organization on KESQ News Channel 3’s “Eye on the Desert” (which airs on CBS Local 2 weeknights at 6:30), in public service announcements and on kesq.com.

Image via H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation