When your electronic gadgets break, does your tween fix them? Do you have a child who builds elaborate housing for pets and dolls out of scraps of craft materials and cardboard boxes? Maybe you’re raising entrepreneurial teens with ideas that could make them the next Facebook or Snapchat inventor, app creator, or Shark Tank winner.

If any of this sounds familiar, you may have a Maker on your hands. But what exactly does that mean?

WHAT IS THE MAKER MOVEMENT?
The Maker Movement is a quickly growing culture that embraces the idea that learning is done best through doing. It includes do-it-yourself individuals and groups that create things, and its members are producers more than consumers, explains Irm Diorio, Executive Director of Decatur Makers. While some makers work in makerspaces, others tinker in their homes and garages. Some maker interests include robotics, electronics, metalworking, woodworking, and traditional arts and crafts.

With affordable access to 3D printers and computers, technology is often a part of the Maker Movement, but it doesn’t have to be, says Diorio.

“Everyone is a maker,” Diorio says, and she encourages others to discover the maker in them. “It’s about finding what really inspires you–gardening, baking, sewing, anything that you would build with your hands. It’s fun and can be functional, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s all about letting your creativity take you for a ride.”

WHY USE A MAKERSPACES?
Some makers discover their tribe at makerspaces, where adults and children find the community and supplies they need, including equipment and tools that are hard to store at home. Makerspaces often house equipment like 3D printers, laser cutters, wood lathes, saws, welding equipment, and sewing machines. Makerspaces offer community, encouragement, and expertise for those working on projects. These spaces are also becoming popular in schools because parents, teachers, and administrators want to include this creative outlet in the learning process.

HOW CAN PARENTS SUPPORT A MAKER-MINDED LIFE?
How you help your child flourish at being a DIY kid depends on his or her age. Here are some suggestions that will help guide kids as they grow.

Preschool:
-Encourage natural curiosities, inclinations, or interests
-Start coding with and without technology (there are lots of ideas at code.org)
-Give them the tools of their trade even if they’re in junior size–think miniature toolbox with tools, junior sewing machine, or real gardening tools small enough to fit their hands.
-Don’t be afraid to introduce sophisticated vocabulary–don’t dumb it down.

Elementary:
-Give them a makerspace and fill it with the best tools that you can afford
-Volunteer to start a makerspace at your child’s school
-Create an invention station where your kids can do STEM challenges. Check out a cool design spinner at PBS Kids Design Squad Global Build.
-Participate in a science fair
-Encourage participation in a maker faire
-Have a STEAM closet or basket at home that allows kids to pull out supplies and invent, build, or create
-Provide a coding robot they can program with a tablet
-Join a Lego Robotics club

Middle and High School:
-Encourage an apprenticeship in a trade or with a family member or friend who is an expert (such as a computer science expert, car or airplane mechanic, fashion designer, seamstress)
-Attend a certified STEM High School
-Join a robotics club
-Give them low-cost technology like Raspberry Pi or Arduino to experiment and create their own technology products
-Introduce them to conductive thread so they can make clothes that light up, or Makey Makey, an invention kit that can turn items as simple as bananas or staircases into computer touchpads

Online Resources for the Maker-Minded Family
-Makezine.com–offers ideas for projects, Maker news, links to Maker Faires, and support for all things Maker.
-Makerfaire.com–shares information about Makerfaires all over the world.
-Makered.org–provides support for those interested in integrating maker education into learning environments.
-KiwiCo.com–purchase a monthly service that delivers art and science projects for kids of all ages to your door.
-CardboardChallenge.com–Learn about how to host or find a Cardboard Challenge in your area. A Cardboard Challenge allows kids to make creations using cardboard, recycled materials, and their imaginations.
-Thingiverse.com–this website shares user-created design project files to make using technology such as 3D printers and laser cutters. ■