Furniture and storage choices may all
seem a long way from AI and coding
but leaders in this area, developing
products with STEAM in mind are also
recognising the importance of the
physical side of maker spaces.
One such company is Makeblock who is
working with Gratnells on kit packaging
solutions that are compatible with
existing school storage. It has
taken the decision to move all of its
packaging to the iconic Gratnells tray
and combine multiple kits with the
MakerSpace trolley to provide a full
STEAM package. Makeblock’s STEAM
educational robotic kits and curriculum
resources are currently used in more
than 20,000 schools worldwide. The
product of choice for many STEAM kit
makers, over 3 million Gratnells trays
are sold each year, with over 50 million
in regular use.
In February 2019, Gratnells added
a GESS Education Award to the
Worlddidac Award that it won for
the MakerSpace trolley in 2018. The
next product in the Maker Suite is
the MakerHub, a combined storage
and collaboration space that students
can huddle around to brainstorm and
share ideas. Aimed at supporting
STEAM learning and collaborative
ways of working, the MakerHub and
other products will be appearing in the
Maker Suite throughout 2019.
Richard
Picking,
International
Marketing Director at Gratnells,
commented, “The MakerSpace and
MakerHub trollies provide focal points
for collaborative working. Reliable
resource centres for all types of project
work, they are the ideal extensions
to our range of portable storage
solutions.”