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The Big Book of Makerspace Projects: Inspiring Makers to Experiment, Create, and Learn
Start-to-finish, fun projects for makers of all types, ages, and skill levels!
This easy-to-follow guide features dozens of DIY, low-cost projects that will arm you with the skills necessary to dream up and build your own creations. The Big Book of Makerspace Projects: Inspiring Makers to Experiment, Create, and Learn offers practical tips for beginners and open-ended challenges for advanced makers. Each project features non-technical, step-by-step instructions with photos and illustrations to ensure success and expand your imagination. You will learn recyclables hacks, smartphone tweaks, paper circuits, e-textiles, musical instruments, coding and programming, 3-D printing, and much, much more!
Discover how to create:
Brushbot warriors, scribble machines, and balloon hovercrafts
Smartphone illusions, holograms, and projections
Paper circuits, origami, greeting cards, and pop-ups
Dodgeball, mazes, and other interesting Scratch games
Organs, guitars, and percussion instruments
Sewed LED bracelets, art cuffs, and Arduino stuffie
Makey Makey and littleBits gadgets
Programs for plug-and-play and Bluetooth-enabled robots
3D design and printing projects and enhancements
"
This easy-to-follow guide features dozens of DIY, low-cost projects that will arm you with the skills necessary to dream up and build your own creations. The Big Book of Makerspace Projects: Inspiring Makers to Experiment, Create, and Learn offers practical tips for beginners and open-ended challenges for advanced makers. Each project features non-technical, step-by-step instructions with photos and illustrations to ensure success and expand your imagination. You will learn recyclables hacks, smartphone tweaks, paper circuits, e-textiles, musical instruments, coding and programming, 3-D printing, and much, much more!
Discover how to create:
Brushbot warriors, scribble machines, and balloon hovercrafts
Smartphone illusions, holograms, and projections
Paper circuits, origami, greeting cards, and pop-ups
Dodgeball, mazes, and other interesting Scratch games
Organs, guitars, and percussion instruments
Sewed LED bracelets, art cuffs, and Arduino stuffie
Makey Makey and littleBits gadgets
Programs for plug-and-play and Bluetooth-enabled robots
3D design and printing projects and enhancements
"
677 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2016
40 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 18, 2018
Lots of ideas. Will be able to incorporate some into an elementary maker space.
February 28, 2017
The title isn't an exaggeration - this is indeed a big book of project ideas suitable for makerspace programs in libraries, schools and also for homeschooling. I like the way it covers many different types of technologies, from newer, high-tech stuff such as coding, Little Bits, wearable tech, to classic making involving wood, hardware and lots of boxes, and also to some science experiments.
My one gripe about this book (and about many other ideas for makerspaces) is that their idea of "low cost" is often not the same as mine. It may be easy to salvage one motor unit from an electric toothbrush, but can anyone realistically expect to be able to salvage enough for a class of 12-25 youngsters? A project that costs a mere $5 per head quickly becomes a significant expense if 20 or more people show up - and it seems mean to say that "sorry you can't take your creation home".
My one gripe about this book (and about many other ideas for makerspaces) is that their idea of "low cost" is often not the same as mine. It may be easy to salvage one motor unit from an electric toothbrush, but can anyone realistically expect to be able to salvage enough for a class of 12-25 youngsters? A project that costs a mere $5 per head quickly becomes a significant expense if 20 or more people show up - and it seems mean to say that "sorry you can't take your creation home".
February 20, 2019
WOW! The book features 51 projects for the makers in our community.
The book lists all of the supplies, time requirement, the STEAM behind each, alternate or further ideas and a rough budget idea (most of them are inexpensive). The book caters perfectly to both the public and school library.
The book is divided into several categories of project types:
Small/Low-Cost: Brush bots, artbots, etc.
using Balloons: hovering ufo/drone
Cardboard and Smart Phone: pepper's ghost or holograms or projectors
Paper circuits
introductory coding (using Scratch and others)
Sewing Circuits
DIY Musical Instruments
and some more advanced/costlier ones:
-Intermediate Advance coding: sphero, snap circuits, etc
-littleBits: robotic arms, mini golf windmill
-Makey Makey: switches and circuits
-3-D Printing
The book lists all of the supplies, time requirement, the STEAM behind each, alternate or further ideas and a rough budget idea (most of them are inexpensive). The book caters perfectly to both the public and school library.
The book is divided into several categories of project types:
Small/Low-Cost: Brush bots, artbots, etc.
using Balloons: hovering ufo/drone
Cardboard and Smart Phone: pepper's ghost or holograms or projectors
Paper circuits
introductory coding (using Scratch and others)
Sewing Circuits
DIY Musical Instruments
and some more advanced/costlier ones:
-Intermediate Advance coding: sphero, snap circuits, etc
-littleBits: robotic arms, mini golf windmill
-Makey Makey: switches and circuits
-3-D Printing
September 17, 2017
A collection of past time activities that are as useful as a game of Solitaire on Windows, which involve far less brain than a game of Minesweeper. Yet, when you are a school worker and want to show the concerned parents how useful was the time they went to the mall for the child locked down in a room, now this can be useful.
August 17, 2017
Graves goes all in right away with intense projects that are "free-$"--her spaces must be much better equipped and her understand of one dollar sign must be much higher than mine. Regardless, great ideas and projects in here.
September 6, 2018
most of the projects were meh.
October 1, 2020
Electronics projects
August 1, 2021
perfect for makerspace beginners!
many easy to create challenges to introduce makerspace to all grade levels with a little adaptation!
many easy to create challenges to introduce makerspace to all grade levels with a little adaptation!
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March 15, 2017Lots of project ideas for you makerspace - keep this as an idea book in your makerspace.
May 18, 2025
In The Big Book of Makerspace Projects, Colleen Graves and Aaron Graves curate more than a mere instructional manual; they offer a vibrant, accessible testament to the culture of learning-through-making. As a literary scholar attuned to the shifting paradigms of education and material culture, I find this text to be a salient bridge between the haptic world of creativity and the abstract realms of cognition, collaboration, and educational democratization.
The book operates within the ethos of constructivist pedagogy—a mode of learning where meaning is built, quite literally, through engagement, manipulation, and iteration. Its organization mirrors the scaffolding of an inspired learning journey. Divided into thematically rich chapters—from circuitry and coding to upcycled crafts and kinetic sculptures—the book resists the impulse to compartmentalize disciplines. Instead, it encourages transdisciplinary thinking, invoking the spirit of Leonardo da Vinci as much as Seymour Papert.
One of the book’s quiet yet profound virtues is its attentiveness to accessibility. Projects are framed with simple materials, often repurposed or easily sourced, allowing readers from a broad socioeconomic range to engage. In an age where educational inequities persist, this choice is not merely pragmatic—it is ideological. The Graveses’ emphasis on tinkering, troubleshooting, and iteration also places failure not as a flaw, but as a generative force. In this, they echo the sensibilities of writers like John Dewey and bell hooks, who championed experiential, student-centered education.
Stylistically, the prose is conversational and inviting. Each project is introduced with clarity, yet never condescends. Visuals are abundant and well-placed, functioning not just as illustrations but as pedagogical tools in their own right. The authors take seriously the idea that aesthetics matter in education—not in a superficial sense, but in the way that beauty and design invite engagement, curiosity, and care.
Yet, what elevates The Big Book of Makerspace Projects beyond its utility is its implicit philosophy: that making is a radical act of agency. In classrooms increasingly defined by metrics and outcomes, the book advocates for a return to process, to the joyful, messy, and deeply human act of creation. It is, in this way, a quiet manifesto—a celebration of the maker not just as a student or hobbyist, but as a thinker, a problem-solver, and a co-constructor of culture.
The Big Book of Makerspace Projects deserves to be read not only by educators and librarians but also by cultural theorists, artists, and policymakers. It reminds us that to make is to reclaim agency, to dwell in curiosity, and to engage the world not just as it is, but as it might be.
The book operates within the ethos of constructivist pedagogy—a mode of learning where meaning is built, quite literally, through engagement, manipulation, and iteration. Its organization mirrors the scaffolding of an inspired learning journey. Divided into thematically rich chapters—from circuitry and coding to upcycled crafts and kinetic sculptures—the book resists the impulse to compartmentalize disciplines. Instead, it encourages transdisciplinary thinking, invoking the spirit of Leonardo da Vinci as much as Seymour Papert.
One of the book’s quiet yet profound virtues is its attentiveness to accessibility. Projects are framed with simple materials, often repurposed or easily sourced, allowing readers from a broad socioeconomic range to engage. In an age where educational inequities persist, this choice is not merely pragmatic—it is ideological. The Graveses’ emphasis on tinkering, troubleshooting, and iteration also places failure not as a flaw, but as a generative force. In this, they echo the sensibilities of writers like John Dewey and bell hooks, who championed experiential, student-centered education.
Stylistically, the prose is conversational and inviting. Each project is introduced with clarity, yet never condescends. Visuals are abundant and well-placed, functioning not just as illustrations but as pedagogical tools in their own right. The authors take seriously the idea that aesthetics matter in education—not in a superficial sense, but in the way that beauty and design invite engagement, curiosity, and care.
Yet, what elevates The Big Book of Makerspace Projects beyond its utility is its implicit philosophy: that making is a radical act of agency. In classrooms increasingly defined by metrics and outcomes, the book advocates for a return to process, to the joyful, messy, and deeply human act of creation. It is, in this way, a quiet manifesto—a celebration of the maker not just as a student or hobbyist, but as a thinker, a problem-solver, and a co-constructor of culture.
The Big Book of Makerspace Projects deserves to be read not only by educators and librarians but also by cultural theorists, artists, and policymakers. It reminds us that to make is to reclaim agency, to dwell in curiosity, and to engage the world not just as it is, but as it might be.
November 2, 2016
A really helpful compendium of projects for schools that will be incorporating the learning that uniquely comes from a makerspace into their curricula. Graves does a great job of showing how to do each of the projects in the book...illustrations are helpful.
I wonder about the inclusion of Coding in the book, as I would make Coding a separate, non-"makerspace" skill. I think if we were to look at the needs of students going forward they need the crafting/producing skills they're learning in a makerspace to be informed by the essential value of Coding.
Looking forward to the next book, Colleen!
I wonder about the inclusion of Coding in the book, as I would make Coding a separate, non-"makerspace" skill. I think if we were to look at the needs of students going forward they need the crafting/producing skills they're learning in a makerspace to be informed by the essential value of Coding.
Looking forward to the next book, Colleen!
November 22, 2022
Make Them All!
This was a great fun read.
As someone who is learning how to teach kids how to code, I found this book was a great start. It detailed a bunch of projects for all ages, and they were fun and fairly simple.
Would recommend!
4.0/5
This was a great fun read.
As someone who is learning how to teach kids how to code, I found this book was a great start. It detailed a bunch of projects for all ages, and they were fun and fairly simple.
Would recommend!
4.0/5
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December 9, 2016621.988 G7762 2017
January 25, 2017
Nice book and some ideas I could actually do for a STEAM or STEM program.
I loved the homemade record player idea. I want to do this.
I loved the homemade record player idea. I want to do this.
October 4, 2020
Unique
Pretty cool projects. I just wish the pictures were in color and not black and white . Very informative and unique
Pretty cool projects. I just wish the pictures were in color and not black and white . Very informative and unique
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews