{"id":10320,"date":"2026-03-24T12:25:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/?p=10320"},"modified":"2026-03-24T12:25:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:25:57","slug":"learning-for-life-back-in-the-makerspace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/2026\/03\/24\/learning-for-life-back-in-the-makerspace\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning for Life, back in the Makerspace!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This semester we&#8217;ve been fortunate to continue our ongoing collaboration with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swarthmore.edu\/learning-life\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.swarthmore.edu\/learning-life\">Learning for Life<\/a> program, a wonderful and uniquely-Swarthmorian educational program in its 27th year on campus. If you haven&#8217;t heard about it, L4L facilitates learning partnerships between students and staff, hooking them up with unique instructional and workshop opportunities delivered by our own super duper educators on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"677\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_285-2-1024x677.jpg\" alt=\"Two students and a staff member huddle around a computer monitor working on a project together\" class=\"wp-image-10321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_285-2-1024x677.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_285-2-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_285-2-768x508.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_285-2-1536x1016.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_285-2-2048x1354.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_285-2-91x60.jpg 91w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><sup>Learning For Life classes for students and staff in the Makers Space on the campus of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Laurence Kesterson\/Staff Photographer)<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Makerspace is a great fit for this framework, since by mission we are open to the whole Swat community, among whom staff are often the most eager and enthusiastic learners, since they spend every day caring for and managing our spaces and have as good a sense of the fun and possibilities as anyone on campus. Each semester we try to hold a handful of wood workshops to give staff and their student partners a foot in the door of the makerspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"677\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_283-2-1024x677.jpg\" alt=\"A makerspace staff member is photographed helping a workshop participant on a bandsaw, shot through the tool in the foreground\" class=\"wp-image-10322\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_283-2-1024x677.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_283-2-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_283-2-768x508.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_283-2-91x60.jpg 91w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_283-2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><sup>Learning For Life classes for students and staff in the Makers Space on the campus of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Laurence Kesterson\/Staff Photographer)<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>These workshops all start with a plan but often veer delightfully off course as the participants get familiar with the resources in the Makerspace, follow their own whims, and try to inject their own creativity into what start as basic sessions. What on paper looks like a straightforward instructional session undoubtedly always becomes a brainstorming session, an experiment with tools and unique materials, and a vivacious back-and-forth about what we can accomplish in a few hours. Want to build an armoire? Maybe let&#8217;s backburner that until Summer. Catching up on years of missed Mother&#8217;s Day gifts? Let&#8217;s talk!<br><br>If you&#8217;d like to get involved in Learning for Life, meet some lovely staff, and join one of the sessions held here or elsewhere around campus, you can find a lot <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swarthmore.edu\/learning-life\/get-involved\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.swarthmore.edu\/learning-life\/get-involved\">more info here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_286-2-1024x680.jpg\" alt=\"a student working in the makerspace gesticulates an idea to a workshop participant who listens\" class=\"wp-image-10323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_286-2-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_286-2-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_286-2-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_286-2-90x60.jpg 90w, https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/260213_learning_286-2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><sup>Learning For Life classes for students and staff in the Makers Space on the campus of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Laurence Kesterson\/Staff Photographer)<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This semester we&#8217;ve been fortunate to continue our ongoing collaboration with the Learning for Life program, a wonderful and uniquely-Swarthmorian educational program in its 27th year on campus. If you haven&#8217;t heard about it, L4L facilitates learning partnerships between students &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/2026\/03\/24\/learning-for-life-back-in-the-makerspace\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Learning for Life, back in the Makerspace!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":10324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-academic-technology","9":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-03-24-12_04_33-Settings.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/ph2nPL-2Gs","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10320"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10326,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10320\/revisions\/10326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}