Woodlands Innovation Zone MakerBarn Project

The Maker Barn is coming to Extraordinary Education!
This exciting new makerspace project will be developed as a partnership between  Extraordinary Education, the Woodlands Innovation Zone, and My Young Entrepreneurs Club.
The Maker Barn will be a place where students can learn the practical application of S.T.E.A.M. education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) and where adults can explore their own creativity as well. Classes for kids will be offered during the day through EE’s regular programs while the evening hours and weekends will be reserved for adults (older students working on a project will be welcome with a parent/guardian).
What is a Makerspace anyway?

To describe them simply, makerspaces are community centers with tools. Makerspaces combine manufacturing equipment, community, and education for the purposes of enabling community members to design, prototype and create manufactured works that wouldn’t be possible to create with the resources available to individuals working alone. These spaces can take many forms but they are all united in the purpose of providing access to equipment, community, and education, and all are unique in exactly how they are arranged to fit the purposes of the community they serve. Makerspaces represent the democratization of design, engineering, fabrication and education. (Source: http://spaces.makerspace.com)

The barn is approx. 3600sqft and we are estimating it will take approx. $20K (and a lot of free labor J ) to bring it to where it needs to be. EE also has other classrooms that could be utilized for teaching classes as well. This scenario is a win/win for everyone - The Woodlands Innovation Zone, Extraordinary Education, Montgomery Young Entrepreneurs, and the community!
MakerBarn Project Donation Page
What can you do to help? I'm so glad you asked!

• LET US KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED! If you are interested in being part of making the Maker Barn project a reality, please contact Jeannie James, the group coordinator, to let her know about your interest.   
• TELL YOUR FRIENDS about us!!  We need to build as much community support and momentum as we can right now. The more interest we can garner in the beginning, the faster we can get this thing built.  So talk to your neighbors, your friends & family, your co-workers. Most people don’t even know what a makerspace is and we need you to help educate them!
• Let us know what you are most interested in using a makerspace for.  As we develop a plan and begin to build out the space, this will help us in deciding where to focus our time & money first. 
• Volunteer your time and expertise for the build-out! We will need a lot of helping hands to get the barn cleaned out first. Then there will be electrical work, plumbing, & A/C work to do. We will need to put up a few walls and seal off the elements, as well as add some storage for EE’s existing needs as well as the Maker Space needs.  We could also use some website & marketing help. 
• Volunteer to teach a class. We have the opportunity to raise funds this summer even while the build-out is going on by utilizing EE’s additional classroom space. You can teach a one-time class or a week-long day camp type class or even an extended class over a series of weekends. You are limited only by your imagination.  So whatever your "maker" specialty, we’d love for you to share it with us.
• Consider donating to Extraordinary Education (EE) to help fund the build-out and equipping of the Maker Barn. A webpage has been set up to allow folks to donate to this project on-line at the link below. A lot of people donating just a little bit will go a long way in getting this done. 
  MakerBarn Project Donation Page
• We are also looking for corporate funding, either monetary or in the donation of equipment and supplies.  If you own a company, work for a company, or know of a company that would be interested in supporting what we are doing, please let us know!