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Welcome from the K-12 Maker team at the MIT Edgerton Center!
We help educators integrate Maker/STEAM projects into regular academic classes, making their curriculum more engaging, promoting "21st-century" durable skills, and fostering literacy in creative technologies used by professionals.
On this site you will find dozens of project tutorials, an introduction to Maker/STEAM tools, a makerspace design guide, our methodology for designing and delivering Maker/STEAM projects, and lots more.
Our professional development (PD) trains educators in project workflows and in our methodology for designing and delivering Maker/STEAM projects. Teachers shift from direct instructors to facilitators of meaningful projects. Students are engaged and empowered with skills in persistence, problem-solving, and self-direction. They gain hands-on experience with current technologies, readying them for STEM pathways and broadening their opportunities in school and careers.
We continually improve our materials and approaches to Making and STEAM in the classroom as technologies and the educational landscape evolve. Check back in for new project ideas, classroom stories, tools, and PD opportunities.
“Maker” projects can be described of as a combination of STEAM and PBL. STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) is an interdisciplinary approach to education that blends technical and analytical skills with creative thinking and design. PBL (Project-Based Learning) is an educational approach that puts content learing into a real-life context or a project that is meaningful to the student.
While fabrication is an important part of Making, the essential elements include critical thinking, iteration, learning from mistakes, creativity, and collaboration. Educators facilitate projects that are hands-on and open-ended. The modern technologies are a draw, especially for reluctant students, and the meaningful projects keep the students engaged.
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Inspiration and expertise for every stage of your Makerspace journey—from getting started to professional growth.
Don’t miss the latest news, project ideas, PD opportunities, insights, and more!
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For decades before the dawn of the Maker movement, the Edgerton Center was a home for Makers: collaborative, playful, experiential learners who believe everyone should have access to the tools for building a better world.
Founded in 1992, the Edgerton Center honors the legacy of Harold "Doc" Edgerton — inventor, entrepreneur, explorer, and MIT professor. Early on, it provided MIT students with a place to experiment, learn, and bring unique ideas to life. Over the years, we’ve grown to support local community members, schools across the globe, and educational organizations seeking access to STEM tools, activities, and collaborators.
We invite K-12 educators to bring experiential learning into their communities and to use this website as a resource for setting up, operating, and benefiting from makerspaces.
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