DIY STEM Or STEM and the Maker Movement
From Rick McMaster
I mentioned in my last columm about the significant presence of the Maker Movement at SXSWedu. It included a Distinguished Speaker session by Dale Dougherty, founding editor/publisher of MAKE Magazine and overflowing crowds in the MAKERSPACE room with its 3D printer, laser cutter and, most important, the tables covered with LEGO® pieces to let your inner MAKER run wild. So what does the Maker Culture or DIY Movement have to do with STEM? It is comes down to making STEM real and showing how that knowledge can be applied to not just science, technology, engineering and math—but to much more. 

I grew up with Lincoln Logs®, Erector® Sets, Tinkertoy® and other building sets. I always started with the suggested projects in the colorful booklets that accompanied them but then branched out with constructions that combined elements from more than just one of these sets. I doubt that I was alone in this hybridization. I learned something about engineering along the way through both failures and successes as well as growing my creative “genes”. I made works of art, perhaps not always appreciated by the adults around us, but I was encourged to continue to innovate.

Today students have much more available to them. My house is filled with K’NEX® and I love to visit the back wall at the LEGO store to fill the container with a hodgepodge of pieces that I can take home and combine into creations that have never occurred in any book. LEGO Mindstorms® and FIRST® LEGO League are great examples of fully engaging students in STEM. There are numerous freeware programming languages such as Alice, that can easily be learned and quickly reward the student with what they can accomplish. We have both the Arduino® and Raspberry Pi® that put amazing technology well in the reach of middle and high school students. It’s all in learning by doing – and that’s part of the success that flipped classrooms are seeing today.

But you don’t have to invest in building sets and microprocessors to get students interested in STEM through DIY projects. Here are two examples from my recent school visits. The first is the Build Your Own Robot Arm from Teachers TryScience. It’s a collection of “stuff” that most people will have around the house: cardboard, string, rubber bands, etc. The challenge is stated very clearly but the “how to” is not. The students (or children if you are doing it at home) have the chance to be creative and innovative in how they use these materials.

A second example is Puff Mobile from PBS Kids. Again, the materials can readily be found around the house or classroom but the challenge for the students is how to use these materials in the best way to make the vehicle. The students work in teams and the first decision that they need to make is the color of the paper that they will use. One of the best aspects of this activity is that you can modify it to make it more challenging for older kids. ( I suggest that it have a spot for a LEGO character to ride.)

So what do the students gain from these and other DIY projects? They learn some of the basics of being an engineer or scientist. They learn to work in teams. They learn to be creative and innovative. They learn that the first attempt may not be the best or even work. They learn to analyze the results and try again using critical thinking. This is the real , hands-on experience that will keep them interested in STEM and, perhaps pursuing a career that builds on being a maker. Many of entrepreneurers today started in a garage or at a table in the kitchen.

There are lots of resources out there and I’ll mention just a few that both parents and teachers can pursue, TryScience, Teachers TryScience (not just for teachers) and PBS Kids (but be sure not to miss ZOOM and Design Squad Nation). More on my “kitchen tested” experience with these in a future column.

Until next month and , as always, your comments and suggestions for future columns are welcome, @drkold.

The registered trademarks are owned by their respective organizations.

Rick McMaster is the STEM Advocate at IBM’s University Programs Worldwide.

Back to newsletter