advertisement

Creative work spaces are 'library of future'

President Obama has proclaimed this week as the "Week of Making" all across the United States. Having just returned from The White House for the kickoff to the Week of Making, celebrating makers from all over the United States, I feel that the winds of change are moving in the direction of creating community makerspaces.

What is a makerspace, might you ask? A makerspace is a gathering place for creatives, business developers, tinkerers, do-it-yourselfers, artists and more to design and build things. A place where the community can work on their ideas, use 3-D printers, laser cutters, woodwork, metalwork, and hardware design. A place where budding entrepreneurs can come to flesh out their ideas, collaborate, and build the next great idea.

The Chicago Industrial Art and Design Center is a great example of a community maker space.

Why do we need makerspaces? I would liken a makerspace to the "library of the future." In fact, the Harold Washington Library has the Makerlab, albeit, it's tiny and not designed to serve an entire city.

Many schools are starting to build their own makerspaces, and Quest Academy in Palatine, was one of the first to have them.

But they shouldn't be available to just a privileged few. Makerspaces could be the next great public institution. The time has come to start building our own makerspaces with each community having its own separate place.

We need to double down on strategies that empower our students and community to take control of their own destinies. That's what a makerspace offers.

Which town is going to be the next great example for how cities empower their youth and small business community? Will it be Arlington Heights? Palatine? Naperville? It's up for grabs. It's time for publicly funded makerspaces.

Which city will take the lead?

Daniel Rezac

Palatine

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.