Makerspaces: Conductive Textiles

Makerspaces have become one of the most talked about educational tools in recent years, popping up in many school and public libraries. Makerspaces come in all shapes and sizes, some have whole rooms dedicated to creation while others are portable carts of maker supplies (Moorefield-Lang, 2018). The tools used in makerspaces are also are just as diverse. My son’s elementary school media center's makerspace has Lincoln Logs and Marble Run toys, while my older son created a 3D-printed cell phone holder last year in his middle school’s maker lab.


As a (basic) sewer, viewing pictures of sewing machines in makerspace labs while conducting this research had me intrigued – wait, sewing counts as a makerspace activity? Evidently, “Maker spaces can be anything you and your patrons want them to be” (Moorefield-Lang, 2018). I came across the electronic crafting section of this Arts and Craft Makerspace blogpost, where I learned about conductive textiles, which are basic fabrics such as cotton, mixed with conductive metals, such as silver or nickel (Trombly, 2015). The video below describes conductive textiles as “great for sewing flexible circuits, making sensors and switches in your clothes, and all other wearable electronics” such as light up clothing (Adafruit, 2014). 

Using conductive textiles in a library makerspace would encourage students to create craft projects that possess an electronic component. This could encourage students who are crafty to gain skills in electronics and vice versa. By making a project such as the candle flicker LED hair bow described in the video below, children are learning the process involved in creating small battery powered electronics and are laying the foundational knowledge to take on similar, but more advanced projects. Successful completion of these projects also creates the confidence to attempt other new challenges, in the makerspace arena and beyond. 

Our goal as educators is not to teach children how to memorize facts, but to teach them how to think, and making does just that. Makerspaces “should be about helping . . . students identify the problems they want to solve and the things they want to create and teaching them to use the tools they will need in order to do it” (Canino-Fluit, 2014). I used to say I wanted to be an inventor when I grew up (the new contact lenses that adjust to light – yup, I had that idea, too, 30 years ago). Little did I know that someday in the not so distant future, as a school media specialist, I’ll have the opportunity to help student inventors bring their own ideas to life.      

References

Adafruit. (2014, February 4). Conductive textiles at Adafruit – Becky Sterns explains [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/m9O-T8oy7TU



Canini-Fluit, A.A. (2014). School Library Makerspaces. Teacher Librarian, 41(5), 21-27.



Moorefield-Lang, H. (2018, October 29). Makerspaces: SLIS 761 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBsEHD0XE6E&feature=youtu.be



Twombly, C. (2015). How are conductive textiles used? Retrieved from https://www.herculite.com/blog/how-are-conductive-fabrics-used