Makerspace inspires students and enhances learning in Oswego District 308

This past summer, Oswego Community Unit School District 308 introduced Makerspaces to engage students in hands-on STEAM activities like building with blocks, programming robots and using 3D printers.

Now, several months later, these spaces continue to inspire creativity and growth among students.

Kristin Olson, a speech and language pathologist at Long Beach Elementary, has creatively integrated Makerspace materials into her daily sessions.

In addition to facilitating bimonthly sessions for younger students, Olson uses these resources to support speech and language goals, encouraging critical thinking and hands-on learning.

“I teach the skills through doing, and that’s exactly where STEAM comes into play,” Olson said in a news release from the school district.

Olson shared a standout success story about two students who showed teamwork and resilience while exploring blocks in a session. Their positive experience carried over into the classroom.

“When the session was over, not only they felt smart, they were both happy,” Olson said in the release. “It carried over to the classroom for the rest of the day.”

She also observed how working with blocks helped shift the mood of one younger student, turning his entire day around.

“We still did everything that I had planned to address his IEP goals, but it turned his entire day around,” Olson said in the release. “It was like magic.”

Tony Holub, director of STEAM in district 308, has been inspired by the impact Makerspaces have had, especially for students facing challenges.

“It’s humbling to see the impact it has on students,” Holub said in the release. “Some of the students Ms. Olson works with have had challenging circumstances, and they have really fallen in love with using Makerspace materials to connect to what she’s doing.”

In general, Holub has observed how Makerspaces throughout the entire district operate in support of the district’s foundational practices and core values.

“It’s fostering collaboration, it’s fostering critical thinking skills, it’s fostering how to uniquely approach problem-solving,” Holub said in the release. “It’s just been a real eye-opener, I think…in how powerful this stuff can be.”

The district plans to further integrate Makerspaces into everyday classroom learning, with an emphasis on professional development.

“Long term, we would love to see how each building uses it to their benefit for instructional purposes and to provide ongoing professional development and support to really make these spaces come to life,” Holub said in the release.