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"The maker space lab is a great way to introduce future educators to a growing instructional tool. This allows us, the students, to have experiences with a space that we could be expected to teach in someday. It is another way that the School of Education is preparing its students to enter the teaching profession."

Lily Fields '22, 4th-8th grade math education major

Bins of LEGO® bricks, colorful craft supplies and dry-erase tables with a rainbow of markers drew School of Education students, faculty and staff into the new Matt’s Maker Space lab in Academic Hall 716 at its grand opening on Monday, Aug. 30. 

The former computer lab is now a vibrant workshop for exploring maker education, which is an approach to problem-based and project-based learning that relies on hands-on, collaborative learning experiences as a method for solving problems. Stocked with high-tech and low-tech tools, the classroom will immerse School of Education students in modern teaching and learning concepts related to K-12 STEM and maker education to prepare them for a variety of educational settings. 

"The maker space lab is a great way to introduce future educators to a growing instructional tool," said Lily Fields '22, a 4th-8th grade math education major from Lebanon, Pennsylvania. "This allows us, the students, to have experiences with a space that we could be expected to teach in someday. It is another way that the School of Education is preparing its students to enter the teaching profession."

The lab is named for local nonprofit Matt’s Maker Space, which donated to the University to make the lab possible. The organization was founded by Noelle and David Conover in 2018 in memory of their son, Matt, who passed away from cancer at age 12. The organization, which is working on its 30th maker space in the region, has launched maker spaces in Mt. Lebanon School DistrictUPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and UPMC Western Psychiatric HospitalPoint Park is the first university to house a Matt’s Maker Space. 

Read more about the Matt's Maker Space lab at Point Park here.


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