Can maker-spaces be zero-waste?
This summer, I had the opportunity to teach at a camp at a project-based learning school that revolves around design thinking. I built and taught a curriculum revolved around design thinking, collaboration, and large-scale building for kids aged 5–9. The kids learned skills and created a design that they could do within a week, then built their design using materials at hand.
The kids saw me as an expert for the concept ideation and physical problem solving, but it would be much more accurate to say I was a facilitator and team leader. This is especially true because I am not an engineer. We tried, we failed, we tried again. Sometimes we ran out of time and presented our process from the week.
Each week, the projects were presented to parents, photographed and then taken apart so the materials could be reused. Everything was designed to be disassembled, or — at the very least — repurposed. Within two weeks, I saw the kids shift from asking for materials to jerry-rigging whatever was around to make what they wanted. This MacGyver style resourcefulness is not only exciting, it is sustainable. Nothing was thrown away. Nothing was single use. It was inherently circular.
I realized there is an opportunity here to teach sustainability through project based learning. Can learning zero-waste habits in the classroom facilitate better habits at home? Can creative problem solving at school help create more critical, civically engaged consumers?
Public school classrooms aren’t given the same luxury as a private school camp. Hardwood and power tools — the cornerstone of my zero-waste class — is not easy to scale. So I examined what is done in the classroom — glue and tape, pipe cleaners and a lot of Amazon boxes. It is great to give cardboard a second life but that second life is usually one-day. This is a far cry from sustainable making, especially when you consider the damage to the recyclable material. I wanted to challenge kids to stop using glue to connect things, and start using physics and geometry. And most importantly, challenge them to ask why.
My plan in the coming months is to create a physical tool kit alongside an easily integrable curriculum that teaches kids how to be mindful about their waste and critical in their choices. To begin my journey, I have been working with a 5th grade public school teacher to create a curriculum that teaches sustainability through hands-on activities and reflections. Through the lens of industrial design (my expertise) we have discussed:
- Why isn’t recycling getting recycled?
- How much energy does it take to recycle?
- What can you do to limit waste?
- How can products be manufactured thoughtfully?
This is just the beginning for me. I would love to hear feedback, your personal experience with project based learning or your ‘aha’ sustainability moment.
