Abstract:

The last few years have seen a lowering of cost and accessibility barriers to digital fabrication tools combined with the rise of interest in the do-it-yourself (DIY) or maker movement and culture. These make launching maker spaces and fab labs a popular option for interested groups and universities. Such spaces are often seen as investments in the potential for generating creativity and innovation in the communities they serve. As part of our mandate to offer a premium science and technology education for our students, our high school hosted the second fab lab set up in the Philippines.

Since its establishment, we are still working on balancing and managing expectations from and responsibilities to the immediate community stakeholders and other fab labs and maker spaces in the country. We have gradually been expanding our facilities over the years and prior to the pandemic had established a self-sustaining student-led design, training, and operations team and environment that we hope to revive in the transition back to in-person classes.

This paper summarizes our experiences and journey through some expected and unexpected challenges, including lab identity and independence; staff manpower and skills; facilities and equipment management; material and work storage and disposal; student empowerment and responsibility sharing; and balancing a traditional design skillset with a modern one, among other topics.

This paper can serve as a reality-check on the practicalities of establishing and running a creative space for secondary schools, and to manage the expectations of school administrators.

Keywords:

Maker space, fab lab, secondary school, Philippines, creativity, authentic learning, engineering, design.