Makerspaces are an important tool to include in libraries, as they can bring people together in a warm, welcoming and collaborative space (Fontichiaro, 2019). As collaboration has become more and more necessary in business, it is important that we provide the environments that will encourage and promote these skills (Techman, 2014).
Silhouette Cutting Tool for Makerspaces
Image Description: 4 multicolored models of
Silhouette cutting machine taken from Silhouette.com
Makerspaces are a fun and innovative way to support that mission and no tool is more versatile than the Silhouette cutting machine. It allows users to cut out simple or intricate designs from a variety of materials like vinyl, cardstock, heat transfer paper, and sticker sheets. Users can create custom t-shirt designs using heat transfer vinyl, or print and cut their own temporary tattoos to support events like games, spirit days, or even academic competitions.
Silhouette can also support building designs and games with fun patterns, available for free online, such as this Minecraft Chessboard Papercraft Pattern I found on Tektonten Papercraft. Not only can patrons build the pieces together, but then they can also play chess together, which “helps children develop their cognitive abilities, their character and their competitive spirit” (Nanu et al, 2023).
Best of all, the Silhouette supports both guided and independent learning. Whether users are following a step-by-step tutorial or experimenting with their own digital drawings, they can find everything they need to succeed with this amazing tool.
Silhouette Mint for Makerspaces and Letterboxing
Silhouette also makes a stamp maker, called the Silhouette Mint. This is another amazing tool that can be used in makerspaces to encourage creativity as well as a healthy active lifestyle. Users can design and cut their own custom stamps to use for decorative artwork or even for participating in Letterboxing activities.
Image Description: Image of the Silhouette Mint
taken from Silhouette.com
For those of you who may be unfamiliar, letterboxing is an outdoor hobby that combines treasure hunting, puzzle solving, and hiking. It is similar to Geocaching, but includes an element of art and creativity. Rather than using geolocation as with Geocaching, Letterboxing participants follow clues to find hidden, weatherproof boxes that contain a rubber stamp and a logbook. When found, players stamp their personal logbook with the box's stamp and leave their own stamp in the box's logbook as a record of their visit. Clues to find boxes can be found on letterboxing.org, and participants can even create their own boxes for others to find.
Handcarving Stamp Tools
For your more hardcore patrons that want to participate in letterboxing activities, but find the Silhouette Mint to be cheating, you can also include hand carving materials in your makerspace. Amazon offers a wide array of stamp carving kits by Speedball that you can have available as well.
Image Description: Stamp carving set, containing carving tools,
rubber, and ink rolling tools available from Amazon
Silhouette’s cutting tools are a fantastic inclusion in any library Makerspace. Be sure to check them out!
References:
Fontichiaro, K. (2019). What I’ve learned from 7 years of the maker movement in schools and libraries. Teacher Librarian, 46(4), (pp. 51–53). https://www.proquest.com/openview/d4605e88d35feb5262e45bcd336685db/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=38018.
Techman, M. (2014). Supporting Creativity in School Libraries. Knowledge Quest, 42(5), (pp. 28–30). file:///Users/gertrude/Downloads/EBSCO-FullText-07_25_2025%20(3).pdf.
Nanu, C. C., Coman, C., Bularca, M. C., Mesesan-Schmitz, L., Gotea, M., Atudorei, I., Turcu, I., & Negrila, I. (2023). The role of chess in the development of children-parents' perspectives. Frontiers in psychology, 14. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10330813.
Hi Amber,
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Silhouette before so thanks for sharing! It sounds like it has lots of applications which would make it a great tool for the library setting because it would appeal to a large audience. In Fontichiaro’s (2019) article she talks about how “Hands-on doesn’t mean minds-on” (p. 52). I think this is one reason integrating technology like the Silhouette into the library setting and makerspaces is so impactful because it allows students’ opportunities to flex their creativity and higher order thinking skills that can at times be pushed to the back burner in the heavily standardized testing environment of public schools.
References
Fontichiaro, K. (2019). What I’ve learned from 7 years of the maker movement in schools and libraries. Teacher Librarian (Vancouver), 46(4), 51–63.
I recently saw a Cricut (which is similar to a Silhouette) in our branch library's makerspace and thought that it was a fantastic tech tool to have in the makerspace. It sounds like the Silhouette has so many capabilities and potential uses. I love that libraries are providing access to tech tools that inspire creativity, promote problem solving, and require trial-and-error.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of the Silhouette Mint. It sounds really cool. I think I'd like to try it out! I appreciate your explanation of Letterboxing. I have never heard of it, but it sound like it would be so much fun!
Hey Amber! Thank you so much for you post. I am very familiar with Cricut, but not a Silhouette. It was neat learning about it through your post and sounds very similar to me. I can sometimes be a perfectionst, so having something to help me cut and design is super helpful. I love how you wrote about creativity, collaboration, and even outdoor exploration through letterboxing. That is so important. Also the Minecraft chessboard example was so fun and definitely inspires critical thinking. Thanks again for sharing lots of creative ideas for bringing Makerspaces to life! -Katie Moody
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great post with so many fantastic ideas! I've seen Silhouette machines used for t-shirts and stickers, but connecting the Silhouette Mint to Letterboxing is so fun. It’s such a cool way to bridge a digital creation tool with a hobby that gets people outdoors and exploring. I also love the idea of using the main cutter for a project like the Minecraft chess set, where the making is just the first step of the collaboration. And including the traditional hand-carving kits as an alternative is such a thoughtful touch, showing you're thinking about all the different types of makers who might use the space. This is a really inspiring collection of ideas that goes way beyond the usual projects. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete