Project Dates: 2020-present
Make It Open: Opening Science and Maker Education to Communities (European Union Project)
Make it Open brings the inquiry-based approaches of science education to meet the expansive philosophy and creative classroom approaches of the maker movement in an accessible and actionable framework. Make it Open will support schools, teachers, educators and students of all ages to create synergies between science, creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation. It will offer tools for collaboration between formal, non-formal and informal educational providers, enterprise and civil society, and support schools in becoming agents of community well-being where families are encouraged to become real partners in the learning process. Importantly it will work closely with teachers and school administrators to set their own vision for open schooling, and tailor a model which will work with their context, needs and opportunities, maximizing the potential for successful uptake. The Make it Open team brings together pioneers in maker education with three networks of educators covering both formal and informal science education. The project will create open schooling hubs in 10 European countries where more than 150 schools will each collaborate with enterprises and civil society organizations in order to conduct activities during which children solve challenges in and with the community using tools and approaches from maker education.
The goal of Make it Open is to develop a sustainable infrastructure of open schooling in Europe based on the approach, pedagogy, content, processes, and tools of the maker movement. Make it Open will stimulate innovative STEAM activities and support schools and local communities to develop new partnerships around science learning. It will thereby expand opportunities for different groups in society to learn, be aware and engage with science.
Check out the Make It Open navigator, with tens of curricular units for formal and informal education: https://openschoolingnavigator.eu/