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Democratizing the Maker Movement

Posted by samzenpus on from the leveling-the-playing-field dept.

aarondubrow writes: To its advocates and participants, the Maker Movement resonates with those characteristics that we believe makes America great: independence and ingenuity, creativity and resourcefulness. But as impressive as today's tools are, they're not accessible to many Americans simply because of their cost and high technological barrier to entry. An article in the Huffington Post describes efforts supported by the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies to create new tools, technologies and approaches to make the Maker movement more inclusive and democratic.

3 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. As a minor nitpick on the original article... by mark-t · · Score: 1, Interesting

    ... at what point did the expression "begs the question" come to mean the same thing as "raises the question", and no longer mean that the proposition being claimed is assumed implicitly or explicitly in the premise?

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
  2. support maker spaces by Gnaythan1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Maker movement is awesome. and is a lot like shop class from back in the day, but with a lot more access to tools and retention of fingers. It needs some sort of small grant or funding initiative to get these things off the ground.

    I just joined one still getting off the ground in the Everett-Lynnwood area (North of Seattle). Lots of potential, suffering from lack of funding. We get funds, we get tools. We get tools, we get more members.We get more members, we get more funds.

    But just starting out... that lack of funds is a killer. We have multiple 3d printers, a laser cutter, and an electronics parts bin the size of a walk in closet, but its hard to find a big enough place to PUT it all, who won't mind us using a laser cutter on pleather or 3d printing vinyl, or using some louder equipment to cut and drill some t- slots

    Its happening... but slower than any of us really want. and none of the places we have looked at for a permanent home are really big enough yet.

  3. Re:Okay by Dr.+Bombay · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The term "maker" used to cause me to cringe as well, until I saw a plaque on a Pratt & Whitney gun boring lathe from the 1860's at the Harper's Ferry museum.
    The plaque read,
            Pratt & Whitney
                Makers
        Hartford, Connecticut

    If one of the earliest precision machinery manufactures thought of themselves as makers, maybe the term is not so bad after all.