About Family Makers
Family Makers empowers rural children and caregivers to become problem solvers by immersing them in “doing” engineering. Family Makers focuses on framing the existing skills and knowledge of rural families, which are relevant to engineering, into valuable learning resources for engineering. Our curriculum further grounds engineering in the lived experiences of engineers who grew up in rural communities to help children see the relevance of engineering. Through a research-practice partnership with rural libraries, we co-designed a culturally responsive engineering curriculum for rural children (ages 5-10) and their caregivers. Together, we aim to lift barriers that rural children face in engaging with engineering learning and to position rural libraries as key institutions to democratize engineering learning opportunities.
How Will it Work?
Seven Rural Libraries
Partners
The Family Makers research team collaborated with seven rural libraries to integrate library professionals’ needs to co-design of the Family Makers curriculum.
Creative Commons
License
Family Makers curriculum, tested through multiple cycles, will be available for free, shared under a Creative Commons license
Curriculum and Supplementary Resources
The website will provide a research-informed engineering curriculum, facilitation tips, technology guidelines, and digital resources for flexible implementation.
What Does it Look Like
for Children and Caregivers?
Engaging in six short online engineering sessions, children and caregivers (i.e., parents) will experience six different engineering disciplines that are relevant to rural communities and feel empowered that they have the resources and assets to do engineering.
Each session includes an at-home component (i.e., a deepening activity) to reinforce what was explored during the online program and continue engaging in engineering practices at home. Also, children will have an opportunity to “meet” an engineer who grew up in a rural community by watching “A day in the life of an engineer” video we created.
Timeline: How was Family Makers developed?
Understand rural library staff and families’ challenges for online engineering learning through interviews and identify effective approaches for engaging them
Understand
Test and revise Iteration One of Family Makers by implementing it across rural libraries
Test & Revise
Develop
Co-design six online sessions focusing on six different engineering disciplines and pilot test the curriculum
Replicate & Disseminate
Develop the final Family Makers curriculum by testing and revising Iteration Two of Family Makers and disseminate it nationally