Youth Conceptions of Making and the Maker Movement

1. ABSTRACT In this paper, we report on how young people involved in an outof-school “maker” club think about making, the maker movement, and themselves as makers. The paper draws from interviews of seventeen young club members. The data are drawn from a larger, ongoing study on youth making. Specifically, we consider how these young people responded to questions that asked them if they are makers, and what kinds of making they like to do. Preliminary results suggest three themes from youth responses: 1) the maker community is open, but requires active participation; 2) making is an activity that is out of the ordinary; and 3) making and learning about making are integrated across contexts. Given these themes, we caution against narrow views of the value of making, and instead advocate a holistic, youth-centered view of making as an educative experience. We conclude with a description of future research plans.