And every snowman had to have an orange carrot
nose!
My children are now part of our management
team at Matt’s Maker Space. They visit our 33
spaces and become children again. They marvel
at the inventions of these young children and their
creativity.
Makerspaces don’t just ignite kids’ learning.
They are judgment-free zones. Mistakes not only
can be made, but they help kids learn. And I think
that's the human part of it. That is the human
story. We’re allowed to make mistakes that we
can learn from.
Who Was Ma?
I know that Matt, our son, would have just loved a
makerspace. When he was ill and in the hospital,
the only pastime was a craft cart that stopped
by once a day to his room. He wanted to … but it
wasn’t cool for a 12-year-old boy, so he passed. If
that cart had been full of Lego bricks, robots, and
other maker items, he would have thought that
was the greatest.
When Matt was diagnosed with cancer, the
whole community just wrapped itself around us,
as many communities do. Nobody can really do
anything when a child is sick, except maybe feed
you and do your laundry and grocery shopping.
We had all that.
Matt passed away from cancer at the age of 12.
He would have been a maker. He was a tinkerer
and a creator. He never built what was on the
Lego box — he built what was in his mind.
And when Matt died, everyone surrounded us
with support. We spent many years trying to find
ways to make meaning out of Matt’s life. And we
realized that the community that helped us so
much gave us the answer.
Figure
A
“What’s a Makerspace?”
When our youngest was graduating and we no
longer would have kids in the schools, we met
with the principal of the elementary school
they had all attended. “Have you ever heard of
makerspace?” the principal asked us. We had
not. It opened our eyes to a world where our
philanthropy could match our passion: We can
remember Matt while helping to change kids’ lives.
That was in 2016.
We told Mt. Lebanon School District that we
would build a makerspace in their school. They
said, “That's great, except that we have seven
elementary schools.” So our gift to one became
a gift to seven, and Matt’s Maker Space was born
with our donation of $175,000 to a public school
system.
Many people shook their heads when we
donated to a public school system since it is not
common. But we knew it was an investment that
would launch something bigger.
We associated these spaces with libraries
in all the schools, based on a suggestion from
Carnegie Mellon University that no one group
should “own” them. Each space was able to
determine their design and what equipment to
include. We only asked that each space appoint
a “maker” or “STEAM” teacher who would be
responsible.
Each of these first seven spaces is completely
unique.One focuses on “low tech” learning, using
sewing machines and fiber materials; another
focuses on 3D printing and laser engraving.
They all focus on developing teacher expertise
and not on the stuff. If you give a teacher a 3D
printer without adequate training, we know it will
eventually just be used as a coat rack.
We were able to design and create these
makerspaces through collaboration with
Carnegie Mellon and with the Children’s Museum
of Pittsburgh, particularly Anne Fullenkamp, their
senior director of creative experiences.
“I Was Supposed to Do is”
In 2017, we became our own 501(c)(3)
organization. I never in my wildest dreams
thought I would start a nonprofit. I had two jobs,
kids, and an elderly father who lived with us.
I like to say it was the 501(c)(3) that started me.
21
make.co
Matt’s Maker Space
Noelle Conover of Matt’s Maker Space
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COMMUNITY MAKER
AWARD
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