STEAM

Berkshire’s Makerspace is a creative place. From robots to interactive art installations, students are able to make their ideas into reality. It’s a platform for innovation and place to pursue personal int erests. In the Makerspace, the faculty is committed to creating a culture of innovation.

Students are lead through the design cycle. In particular, students are asked to identify real needs and work to develop a solution. That being said, many of the students’ first (and even second or third) solutions fail, and that is okay. After all, in reality, it is simply the first (or second or third) step toward success. No amazing innovation is created on the first try. This teaches students to take risks and iterate from “failures” to achieve success. In so doing, students develop a growth mindset that helps them to believe that they can learn to do anything.

The Makerspace encourages students to tinker, play, and explore without any clear end goal in mind. In the Makerspace, students have the opportunity to utilize emerging technologies along side of traditional shop equipment in order to bring their ideas to life. Students new to making are welcome to follow tutorials or step-by-step instructions in order to develop their skills so that eventually they will be ready to choose more challenging projects and more interesting opportunities in the future.

The Makerspace cultivates students’ and faculty’s enthusiasm for learning. Making also fosters character-building traits including creativity, curiosity, persistence, resilience, open-mindedness, social responsibility, and collaboration. In the Makerspace, teamwork and community are emphasized as students band together to come up with creative solutions that they might never have invented individually.