Is maker spaces right for my classroom? I still have questions...

There are many questions about makerspaces.  I talked with several of my elementary school teacher friends, and most of them have never heard of them.  Then, I did find a few teachers that did (but not from my school) and I asked them what their thoughts were or why they didn't use maker-spaces in their school or classroom.  Some of the questions that I heard from them are Is it right for my classroom?  What does it look like IN the classroom?  Won't it take up a lot of time setting up and maintaining?   Perhaps the initial set up might be overwhelming, but I think the dividends will be amazing.  Here is a video of what a makerspace looks like in an elementary media center.

Even though, I am convinced that I need to spend a lot of time and money, this video suggests that I don't.  They state that it is important to get people to buy into the project, even if it means starting afterschool.  They argue that when people see it in action, they will see how beneficial it is to students.

What is makerspaces again? Follow the link for my infographic that I made.

https://magic.piktochart.com/output/14081818-makerspaces

Can I use makerspaces in my classroom?

I am a 2nd grade teacher, but I am also the Destination Imagination coach in my school.  Because of this,  I am very STEM minded and I am always trying to get the students to think outside of the "box".  This is often hard to do in the classroom, but I am trying to come up with ways for my students to become more creative when in the classroom.  Of course, there are 2 issues with this for me, and perhaps other teachers.  

1- Finding the actual "space" in my classroom.

2- Finding the time and creating the lessons to allow the students to use the makerspaces!

Let's start with #1.  The actual space.  We have an open school with no doors and minimal walls.  It can be very distracting, but the worst part is, we do not have a lot of storage s   I use my classroom for Destination Imagination practices, but it is not an ideal space. (For those of you not familiar with Destination Imagination, it is like Odyssey of the mind.  The students are challenged to use their brains and common household items to solve problems)  I am going to work on clearing a space in the corner of my room with a large table and store items that the students will need in order to get together and create.  There are many websites dedicated on how to create your own makerspace in your classroom.  This is a great website with may resources on how to set up a makerspace in the classroom, what supplies you need, how to get started, and reasons why this is so important.

https://www.edsurge.com/research/guides/how-to-build-your-makerspace

Issue #2- Finding the time.  I have been spending some time thinking of how I can incorporate this into my classroom next year.  It would be easiest to use this in a guided reading center, but it really wouldn't fit with a reading curriculum, so I will have to use math or science time and find a way to involve time and lesson plans that will support makerspaces.  Teachers are very creative beings.  We will figure out a way to make things happen.  Whether it means figuring out a way to add a makerspace lesson activity to go along with a lesson, or perhaps, even a way to spend some indoor recess time, we will make it work!  Of course, one could pay for expensive lessons http://www.makerspacelab.com , but I don't want to spend the money to do that.   There are lessons and materials that you can purchase there that are pre-made.  Of course, there is always https://makerspace.com/ where you communicate with other makers and get some great ideas.  Because maker-spaces is not a subject yet, it may be difficult to incorporate into your daily lesson plan, but with some clever planning, it will work!