Making and makerspaces have been the words on everyone’s tongue over the last few years. With the increasing availability of materials, technology, and resources it’s no surprise that more and more people are entering the world of making!
As wonderful as this is, there is often a misconception that making has to look a certain way. There is this idea that if you’re a school without a 3D printer, you must be doing it wrong; if you have a home workshop without a power drill then you’ll never get very far. We believe that this is a really limiting view of making and makerspaces; there is so much more to the world of making than 3D printers. Here are 3 of our favourite under-represented forms of making!
- Cooking and Baking
Baking is making! If you’ve ever seen the show “Cake Boss” then you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about. Those intricate and creatively designed cakes are a perfect example of what making is all about; having an idea and being involved in actually having it come to life! But, instead of using wood and nails you’re using flour and icing!
Not the handiest with a piping bag? You’re in luck, because cakes aren’t the only form of making. All cooking is making! Getting to be hands on in the kitchen isn’t only fun, it’s also a great way to develop many of the same skills you would be in the typical view of a makerspace. Collaborating with others to source ingredients and create recipes, testing out recipes and modifying them on the fly, sharing your food creations with others and asking for their feedback, and trying again with new knowledge and skills are all amazing learning experiences you get out of cooking and making that we hope you would get out of any makerspace. Plus, you get a tasty treat at the end of it all!
- Cosplay and Costume Design
As any ComicCon veteran will know, it is a cardinal sin to purchase your costume. You have to make it! Cosplay and other costume design are great examples of under-represented making. The planning, skills, trial and error, and vision required to make the costume of your dreams are all crucial parts of making in other areas and mediums.
Not a big enough fan to want to dress up like your favourite character? That’s okay! Designing your own clothing, jewelry, and even household items are a great way to bring making into your life as well.
- Dance, Visual Art, Drama, and Music
The arts are perennially underrepresented but another excellent example of making. The opportunities to combine technology and the arts aside, the arts require many of the same skills and mindsets you need for other forms of making.
If you’ve never seen the process of choreographing a dance or writing a song or writing a script, it might be easy to think that it all just “happens” and comes together. In reality, the arts are some of the best places to truly see design thinking and a maker mindset come to life. Having a vision, constantly seeking feedback, and taking risks are things artists of all mediums do on a daily basis and are key elements of all making.
These have been just a few of our favourite kinds of under-represented making. If you’ve ever had any doubts about whether or not you are a maker, we hope this has shown you that the heart of making isn’t expensive equipment or high-tech skills, but is rather the practice of having an idea and actually deciding to bring it to life.
Let us know some of your favourite forms of making in the comments below!
Authored By: Nicole Myers, Director of Business and Curriculum Development, STEM MINDS