Media Center makerspace has something for everyone

At Nicollet Middle School, a visit to the media center means more than just checking out books.

Classes visit the media center weekly for sessions with media specialist Nancy Meyer, who teaches students how to access helpful online resources like the Electronic Library of Minnesota, ebooks through Mackin Educational Resources and the media center’s online catalog. Meyer works with the visiting English Language Arts, Special Education and Multilingual classroom teachers to align the lessons with projects students are working on in class.

After the media lesson, students who display RISE (responsibility, integrity, safety and excellence) behaviors get the rest of their time to check out books and participate in a variety of makerspace activities. Students can choose to play card games, build with Lego blocks, program and operate remote-controlled robots, play a marble-based game called Turing Tumbles that builds computer programming skills, or work on arts and crafts projects. New activities are rotated in and out on a weekly basis.

“I try to have something for everyone,” Meyer said. “It’s a time for them to create and play with minimal structure and changing the stations every week gets them to try new things.”

Meyer said she’s not aware of any other middle schools who combine media center and makerspace time. She’s happy to provide the extra opportunity for students to build their problem-solving, reasoning and cooperation skills while also getting some time away from screens.

"I like that you get to try different things and be with your friends," seventh-grader Sienna Becerra said.