The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. Our mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. Our grant making, policy development, and research help libraries and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive.
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is home to MAKESHOP®, a space for children and families to make, play and design using “real stuff”— the same materials, tools, and processes used by professional artists, builders, programmers, and creators of all kinds. It is also a place where physical materials and digital media resources intersect; where visitors are encouraged to be curious, creative, experimental and innovative.
The Exploratorium is home to the tinkering studio. It is an immersive, active, creative place at the Exploratorium where museum visitors can slow down, become deeply engaged in an investigation of scientific phenomena, and make something—a piece of a collaborative chain reaction—that fully represents their ideas and aesthetic.
Chicago Public Library’s first innovation experiment is the Maker Lab, a community-operated hackerspace where people with common interests, often in technology and science, come together to learn and collaborate.
Maker Ed’s mission is to create more opportunities for all young people to develop confidence, creativity, and spark an interest in science, technology, engineering, math, the arts, and learning as a whole through making. Through programs like Maker Corps, they engage youth and families in making activities.
North Carolina State University Libraries has a Makerspace program that spans two library makerspaces, technology lending, and a series of workshops and events. With access to tools, supportive staff, and learning experiences, the program supports students and faculty in making across the curriculum at NC State.