About Makerspace
Maker Space was a partnership project with the University of Birmingham, School of Engineering and The Play House theatre company. The project worked with 4 schools across Birmingham (190 key stage 2 children) specifically with cohorts where over 50% of students receive pupil premium funding and a large proportion are from Global Majority backgrounds.
Using Drama to Explore STEM
The project consisted of drama workshops delivered in school, centred around a fictional storyline, in which participants (children and their parents and teachers working alongside each other) were enrolled as experts to help resolve the issues for the characters, using STEM solutions. The children’s actions were pivotal, building their self-esteem. Simultaneously, the use of drama as a distancing tool, allowed experimentation without the stress of consequences or perceived failure. This meant that the project was enjoyable and accessible to every child, regardless of their skill set.
PHD students and staff from the University collaborated with actors to support the participants learning and increase their own social engagement skills by presenting and explaining STEM concepts. They trained with the company to increase their skills in public engagement, explaining their research to children.
The project aimed to demonstrate that engineering was accessible to all, specifically girls from Global Majority backgrounds. Parents were invited to take part in the workshops, alongside their children, as they are key influencers and have a huge role to play in the development of the children’s aspirations. Parents were able to embrace learning alongside their child, allowing both parties to develop a new perspective of one another and share an educational experience as equals. To reduce barriers to access for parents, the project provided a creche service, which parents said was a “game changer” allowing them to engage more with the older child than previously possible.
At the end of the project, the children attended an aspirational visit to the University of Birmingham and were supported by PHD students and University staff to explore the new state of art Maker Space and Bimm Cave, marvelling at the opportunities and developed technology on offer.
Positive impact
Evidence gathered from beneficiaries shows that over the course of this project children increased their understanding of the types and impact of engineering. They also learnt valuable lessons in resilience, with one child saying that skills engineers require are “good thinking. Never give up and try again.” Parents felt “inspired” by the project, meeting the engineers and hear about “ideas to help and guide” their children.
