MW LITE 508 Presentation

What Makes a
Makerspace?
Exploring the Resources that Teach the Skills of the Future
Matt Wyman

Mini
Research
Project
WKU LITE 508
05/01/2019What Makes a Makerspace?2

Using Informatics
Do Makerspace Mission statements align with
the equipment and services that they provide?
This is the question that my research project set out to
answer. Makerspaces are the cornerstone of many
library and school STEM programs. They utilize many
21st Century learning skills. I set out to see what tools
Makerspaces utilize and how they align with their
mission statements.
3 What Makes a Makerspace? 05/01/2019

How Did I Approach
This Question?
o : This is a quantitative question. I used data from several
Makerspace websites to analyze and compare
quantitative data to prove or disprove my hypothesis.
o To obtain an adequate sample, I analyzed thirty different
Makerspaces.

HYPOTHESIS
My hypothesis was that most Makerspaces would have a Mission
statement that aligns with the equipment and services that are
offered.

METHOD
I will use https://makerspaces.make.co/ to index and
examine 30 different Makerspace facilities in the United
States.
Step 1 Use data from thirty different websites
to determine the equipment available
to users at each Makerspace site.
Step 2 Examine the Mission Statement of
each Makerspace along with its tool
list and list of services offered.
Step 3 Use the Voyant Tools App to display
trends in the data from each of the
thirty websites.
Step 4 Determine the most frequent pieces of
equipment available and look for any
other trends that appear in the data.

What are my Research
Subjects and Objects?
I will identify thirty Makerspaces in the United States by using
https://makerspaces.make.co/, which is a directory of Makerspace areas. I
will analyze the first thirty Makerspace areas that are listed when using the
country filter on the https://makerspaces.make.co/ search page.

What does the
Literature Say?
I examined established literature on the
subject of Makerspace Learning

What does the Literature Say?
After researching on WKU Library database, I found several
articles on makerspace learning that reinforced my hypothesis.
Reclaiming the physical.
(2013). Online Searcher, 37(5), 40.
“It is the notion of creating and fabricating, however, that
provides the greatest reason for libraries-or other community
agencies-to develop makerspaces. Public libraries have
promoted crafts programs for children for decades because it
increased the understanding and enjoyment of the process
of creation, developed critical thinking skills, and prepared
young people to appreciate literature and reading.
Makerspaces simply raise the age limit for well-established
children's programs and make possible the integration of
work, play, and creation for a new idea of literacy and
lifelong learning.”
Bull, Glen. Schmidt-Crawford, Denise. McKenna, Michael.
Cohoon, Jim. (2017) Storymaking: Combining Making and
Storytelling in a School Makerspace, Theory Into Practice,
“After the school’s library media
specialists developed a makerspace,
student visits increased to more than
70,000 per year. This shift illustrates the
level of student engagement that can
be achieved by tapping into this
cultural movement.”
Purpur, E., Radniecki, T., Colegrove, P. T., & Klenke, C. (2016).
Refocusing mobile makerspace outreach efforts internally as
professional development. Library Hi Tech, 34(1), 130-142.
“Makerspace values closely align with academic libraries' missions
and goals. A recent survey of academic libraries with makerspaces
concluded that, "The democratization of technology, the
maintenance of the library's perception as a leader in technology
innovation, and continued support of scholarship are the most cited
reasons for including a makerspace in an academic library" (Rich,
2014). Through makerspaces, academic libraries are able to not only
be seen as innovative leaders on campus, but can also expand the
ways they support scholarship, especially across the STEAM
disciplines. Beyond monograph and journal access, explicitly
including support for active knowledge creation via physical means
such as 3D printing and other "maker" technologies.”

DATA COLLECTION
I completed an excel spreadsheet organized each of the 30 Makerspaces
that I analyzed along with their mission statements, Tools lists, and
resources pages.
Makerspaces
Selected:
Here are the Makersoaces that I used for my Data Collection

DATA COLLECTION
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ADIPISCING ELIT. MAECENAS PORTTITOR CONGUE
MASSA. FUSCE POSUERE, MAGNA SED PULVINAR
Section 1 Title
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fames ac turpis egestas. Proin pharetra nonummy pede.
Mauris et orci.

DATA COLLECTION
LOREM IPSUM DOLOR SIT AMET, CONSECTETUER
ADIPISCING ELIT. MAECENAS PORTTITOR CONGUE
MASSA. FUSCE POSUERE, MAGNA SED PULVINAR
Section 1 Title
o Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
Maecenas porttitor congue massa. Fusce posuere, magna sed
pulvinar ultricies, purus lectus malesuada libero, sit amet
commodo magna eros quis urna.
o Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et
malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Proin pharetra nonummy
pede. Mauris et orci.
Section 2 Title
o Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Maecenas
porttitor congue massa. Fusce posuere, magna sed pulvinar ultricies,
purus lectus malesuada libero, sit amet commodo magna eros quis
urna.
o Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada
fames ac turpis egestas. Proin pharetra nonummy pede.
Mauris et orci.

VOYANT
TOOLS
Voyant Tools is an
online utility that
allows you to analyze
huge amounts of text
to identify trends and
patterns in the data.
Compiled Makerspace
URLS
Step 01
o I copied and pasted the URLS
of each Makerspace into the
Voyant Tools Utility. I
Ran the Voyant Tools
utility
Step 02
o Voyant Tools analyzes the data
given to it and compiles a
corpus
Section 3 Title
Step 03
o The data is presented in mny
different ways. Charts, Graphs,
Wordclouds, and other
informatic forms are utilized.

MISSION
STATEMENTS
When analyzing mission statements, the top five words
that appeared in the thirty Makerspaces that appeared
with the most frequency were “Space, Lab, Community,
Members, and Open.” I thought that a WordCloud best
represented this data visually.

TOOLS
When the tools pages of each Makerspace
were analyzed, the tools that appeared
most frequently were “Metal Working, CNC
Routers, Electronics, Table Saws, Wood
Working, and Laser Cutter.”

SERVICES
When the Services pages were analyzed,
the top results in frequency were “Classes,
Membership, Design, Projects, Skills, and
Community.” I thought that a WordCloud fit
this area best.

WHAT DID ALL OF
THAT DATA TELL ME?
Results Mission Statements
o The results that I have drawn from this data indicate that
most Makerspaces have an emphasis on fostering a
sense of community and openness in their mission
statements. Exploration was also a theme that appeared
in many mission statements. Space was mention 83 times
in the thirty mission statements. Space seems to be a
given being that Makerspaces are the subject of the
query. The word community was mentioned a total of 33
times in the 30 missions statements that I studied. Lab
was also mentioned 77 times.

WHAT DID ALL OF
THAT DATA TELL ME?
Results Tools
o When tools were analyzed, different areas of making
jumped out in the data. The most common equipment
mentioned on tool listings was Metal Working.” This
broad category encompasses many tools such as
welding equipment and cutters. Art supplies were
mentioned quite frequently as well. These supplies
encompassed paint, sewing, fabric, and vinyl. CNC
Routers were listed on 26 of the 30 tool pages analyzed
for this project. Laser cutters were also a common
resource available to Makerspace areas.

WHAT DID ALL OF
THAT DATA TELL ME?
Results Resources
o When resources were analyzed, classes and membership
were the most mentioned services offered. Design,
projects, and skill building were the nest three services to
appear most frequently in the listing of resources offered
by Makerspaces. After analyzing all three categories and
comparing wordclouds, the mission statements of
Makerspaces and their Services offered had many
common terms. Terms such as “Space, Lab, Community,
and Members” featured prominently in both lists. This
reinforces the notion that services offered at these
Makerspaces align with their mission statements.

WHAT DID ALL OF
THAT DATA TELL ME?
Conclusion
o The conclusion that I can draw from my data is that most Makerspaces are focused on becoming a part of the community and involving as many
makers in critical thinking skills and technology based learning. The tools offered in these Makerspaces support collaboration and teamwork. I was
surprised to see that 3-D Printing did not appear as much as more traditional instruments involved in making such as woodworking and metal
working equipment. The tools that these Makerspaces provide lean more toward the physical making side of Makerspace learning. Coding and
digital making are also a component but are downplayed when compared to metal, wood, and other tactile forms of fabrication and making.
Electronics appeared in the class listing of many resources pages in the data. Membership and classes were the most common services offered at
the Makerspaces that were examined for this project. My hypothesis was that most Makerspaces would have a Mission statement that aligns with the
equipment and services that are offered. The data that I collected and the literature review that
I conducted both concur with the conclusion that I have drawn. The clear theme I was I discerned from my literature review was that 21st century
learning can be achieved through Makerspaces as part of the community. This builds upon more traditional craft activities as described in the
Literature that I reviewed. According to my literature review, “Makerspaces simply raise the age limit for well-established children's programs and
make possible the integration of work, play, and creation for a new idea of literacy and lifelong learning.” (Physical, 2013) The mission statements of
the Makerspaces that I examined emphasized science, engineering, tools, and design. Bowler states that “Proponents of makerspaces argue that
such environments target a unique package of complementary 21st-century skills and aptitudes such as creativity, innovation, transmedia navigation,
visual literacy, and (if based in technology) computational thinking.” The research that I have conducting backs up the claims that are made in my
literature review. (Bowler, 2014)

LIMITATIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Limitations: The main limitation of my research was the sample size. I used 30 Makerspaces located in the
United States as my sample. A larger sample size could have given more insight into what specific values and
methods are important to those in the Makerspace movement.
Recommendations: If I were to conduct this study in the future, I would broaden my sample size to include
Makerspace facilities abroad as well as here in the United States. This could give more insight into what skills
and equipment knowledge is valued in different regions.

THANK YOU!
Matt Wyman

MW LITE 508 Presentation

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