Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology encourages teens to create at Make-to-Learn Workshop

BLACKSBURG, Va., March 22, 2013 – The Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology  invites area teenagers to share what they make with the world at Virginia Tech’s first Make-to-Learn Workshop. 

The free event will be held on Saturday, April 6, from 1-5 p.m. in STUDIOne, the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology studio, at 460 Turner Street NW, on the ground floor of Collegiate Square, Blacksburg, Va.

Organized and coordinated by IDEA Studio, one of five studios within the institute designed to structure organizational projects and initiatives for the institute, the event provides 13- to 18-year-olds the opportunity to create an instructable, which involves making something and documenting the creative process through photography, video, and written instructions.

The purpose of the Make-to-Learn Workshop is to encourage middle and high school students to identify themselves as makers. Makers create everything from engineering-oriented projects to traditional arts and crafts. Participants will complete a project, but will also learn how to identify, document, and explain the process.  

This event is one example of the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology’s community outreach efforts to bring maker technologies to children in the community with the goals of increasing their creative self-efficacy, expanding their technical skills, and teaching them how to move forward in the making process.

Participants may bring an existing project, finished or in progress, or start a new project at the workshop.  They do not need to bring any materials with them to the event. Materials will be provided and several stations will be available, including a maker space; areas for designing, writing, and scripting; photography booths; and video spaces. After completing a project, participants will have the opportunity to submit their creations to the Make-to-Learncontest.

This event is limited to 20 participants. To reserve a space for the Make-to-Learn Workshop,email Phyllis Newbill.

A university-level research institute sitting at the nexus of the arts, design, engineering, and science, the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology is uniquely partnered with the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech. By forging a pathway between transdisciplinary research and art, educational innovation, and scientific and commercial discovery, the institute works to foster the creative process to create new possibilities for exploration and expression through learning, discovery, and engagement. This includes preparing students in kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education environments to succeed in a world that demands teamwork and collaboration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines; promoting new research domains that transcend institutionalized boundaries; and participating with people of all ages in the process of co-creation.