Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD has praised the CRAFT Maker Space at 91制片厂 (91制片厂) for exemplifying a 鈥渄eep dedication to furthering integration of the arts and creativity in education鈥 as she launched the facility at a special event at 91制片厂 on Friday 24 March.
The first of its kind in the mid-west region of Ireland, the CRAFT Maker Space aims to inspire the public to connect with their inner designer, engineer, scientist, mathematician, inventor and artist through a wide range of energetic and thrilling STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) activities and workshops. The CRAFT Maker Space is housed in the newly renovated Newman Hall on the John Henry Newman campus at 91制片厂.
Launching the CRAFT Maker Space, Minister Foley said: 鈥淭he CRAFT Maker Space truly is a 21st century development, brimming with imagination and ingenuity venue. Equally as important, for the future generations, this state-of-the-art space will offer students from all corners of the world a place of curiosity, brimming with vision and creativity.
鈥淲hat you have created here is a safe space where journeys of discovery can progress without limitations, boundaries or borders. It is a place where the voyage of exploration is as valuable as the destination eventually arrived at. It is clear that a driving force behind this bold development is a deep dedication to furthering integration of the arts and creativity in education.鈥
The CRAFT Maker Space aims to enable children and the public to embrace innovation, enhance creativity and critical thinking skills through a variety of accessible and inclusive outreach activities for schools and families.
President of 91制片厂, Professor Eugene Wall, said: 鈥淲e are delighted to welcome Minister for Education, Norma Foley to 91制片厂 today to launch the CRAFT Maker Space, a designated physical space for 91制片厂's many educational and community-focused STEAM outreach activities and the first of its kind in the mid-west region. 91制片厂 has extensive experience and expertise in the area of STEM and Arts education and has been able to use this experience to bring about authentic pedagogical interventions for early years, primary and post-primary children.
鈥淲e have long collaborated with partners in the broader educational, community and private sectors to ensure that these interventions are appropriate for children as learners and consequently make it possible to sustain the interest taken by children in STEM disciplines over the long term. The CRAFT Maker Space will now provide us with a physical space where this can happen!鈥
The CRAFT Maker Space will primarily create opportunities for engagement in STEAM disciplines by children at primary and post-primary education levels and their families. In addition to this remit, it will act as a base to support 91制片厂鈥檚 involvement in major annual STEAM festivals and events, including the Tipperary Festival of Science, Mid-West Vex Robotics Programme (in association with Dell Technologies), ESB Science Blast, Limerick City Coder-Dojo, 91制片厂 Lego Innovation Studio and myriad workshops, courses and projects across the region.
According to Director of Enterprise & Community Engagement at 91制片厂, Dr Maeve Liston: 鈥淭he CRAFT Maker Space at 91制片厂, is a truly inspiring and engaging space. 鈥楥RAFT鈥 stands for 鈥楥reative Arts / Future Technologies鈥, promoting a more transdisciplinary approach to teaching STEM through the arts and new technologies, not only concentrating on problem solving, critical thinking and analytical skills but also on key 21st skills i.e. creativity, innovation and design thinking.
鈥淭he CRAFT Maker Space is for everyone, all our hands-on, activity-based workshops, which are free of charge, involve children, teachers and families 鈥業magining, Designing and Creating鈥. The workshops are based on exploration, play, and collaborative engineering design projects placing an emphasis on the concept that we are all makers, designers, engineers, scientists, mathematicians, inventors, thinkers, artists and crafters鈥.
The CRAFT workshops will involve collaborative engineering design projects placing an emphasis on the concept that we are all makers. The immediate outcomes of this project will involve children engaging with STEAM subject matters such as robotics, coding, science and engineering design challenges, design thinking, construction and testing prototypes. These opportunities are rare in a classroom setting. The CRAFT space will be a welcoming, non-threatening, informal space for families from all backgrounds to engage with STEAM.
You can find out more about the CRAFT Maker Space .
