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Dear Louis,
I had the same question.  I think that Chris Anderson has primarily focused on the possibility of profitable, distributed manufacturing across a global village surrounded by a cloud of invention embedded in a knowledge-based culture, where all humans are made equal and each is supported by his own device and reliant his own uniquely determined brain.

Things will change.  The means of production has changed, and humans have changed.  I think much of the excitement of the Maker Movement existed in some form or other back as far as we can see.  

C
On Aug 23, 2013, at 8:52 AM, Louis Rawlins <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> So, this thread intrigues me.
> 
> While I agree that skills, learning and creativity should be gauges of
> whether a "maker" space is working in a science center, I'm still not sure
> there is a firm definition of what we are talking about.
> 
> I don't mean to get too abstract, and I don't work in a science center, but
> it feels to me that the whole idea of a science center is to inspire
> inquiry and potentially the desire to build something that interacts with
> the physical world. Isn't that pretty much a "maker" space too?
> 
> I've never cared for the term "maker" partly for this reason. It's vague
> and opposes consumers from producers in a way that feels a bit artificial.
> 
> I think, the fad that is being referred to gets confused with events like
> Maker Faire where you have everything from electronics to puppets, to
> string, to math -- all cool and useful stuff, but much of it puts people in
> the context of being a consumer, in an event about how to be a producer.
> 
> 
> When I think this sort of thing, I think of spaces and events dedicated to
> this sort of inquiry and creation, but not necessarily in science centers:
> 
> https://www.noisebridge.net
> 
> http://www.techshop.ws
> 
> http://dorkbot.org/dorkbotsf/
> 
> http://www.eyebeam.org
> 
> 
> Eli, Can we get a better definition of what you'd like to ask for your
> presentation? Or are you just looking for a survey of "maker" spaces in
> science centers?
> 
> 
> Thanks for the thread. :)
> 
> Peace,  Louis
> 
> 

Charles Carlson
Senior Scientist | Teacher Institute

http://blogs.exploratorium.edu/whyintercept/
Twitter: @charliec53
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