From the Brainy minds of kids: NKY Makerspace

BURLINGTON – One day last fall, a bunch of Boone County kids decided there just aren't enough places where kids can make stuff.

Four months later, they have that space.

So, in as much time as it takes for adults to order coffee, they drew up plans, a budget and a video and got their school district to agree to create that place.

It all started when the friends heard about something called Makerspace.

That's a place where kids can come and experiment and invent and play and learn with all kinds of cool tech gadgets.

In September, several kids who all are on robotics teams in Boone County went to a Cincinnati Mini Maker Faire and saw "a bunch of cool inventions," 12-year-old Wyatt Richards explained. That's when they all started researching Makerspaces.

"We don't have any Makerspaces in Kentucky," Wyatt lamented.

Soon, all the teammates at Junior Brainy Bots at Gray Middle School and the Brainy Bots at Rile High School were unabashedly telling teachers at school of their idea.

It didn't take long for Boone Schools Superintendent Randy Poe to catch the kids' excitement too, and, in October, he decided that a building the school district had free on Barney's Road would be a great place for the project.

Victory! The kids scampered to visit the building, draw up floor plans, look at fundraising options. They even created a $93,000 budget.

It was simple, said 14-year-old Tanner Schmidt. "We just started brainstorming on what we could put in there and what people would like to use," he explained.

The Makerspace, the kids decided, would be perfect if it had 3D printers, small robotics equipment, engineering and electrical circuitry, audio and video equipment so kids can learn how to use those cool things, and a whole lot more.

They wrote a letter to businesses and soon found out that a Leadership Northern Kentucky class adopts a project every year. So they sent them a letter asking for help.

A short month later, the charged-up kids, wearing their lab coats, marched into a meeting of the Boone County Board of Education and Leadership Northern Kentucky Class of 2015 and eagerly pitched a full-blown presentation – including a video they'd made.

See the video made by the Junior Brainy Bots and Brainy Bots about NKY Makerspace.

This is going to be a place for every kid, they told the assembled adults. It would be called NKY Makerspace. And it would help kids with STEM, said Wyatt, referring to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education skills, which he loves.

"I always wanted to become an industrial designer, since I was about 4," he said.

It was a no-brainer for the grownups. They caught the kids' enthusiasm, marveled at their determination and agreed to help make it happen.

Leadership NKY voted on the project on Nov. 20 and has raised about $75,000 already. They have endorsements from Northern Kentucky University and Gateway Community and Technical College.

The Leadership class is promoting NKY Makerspace as a place for free learning and free thinking for kids to experiment with something that goes one step beyond STEM -- to something called STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Manufacturing education.

"We are extremely impressed with the kids," said Larry Luebbers, a project co-chair for the Leadership NKY class. "Not only what they're doing but how they present themselves – the whole concept of, 'This isn't for us, this is for other kids in the community, this is for the future.' "

Luebbers said NKY Makerspace will be a focal point for area robotics teams and field trips for schools or churches or other organizations throughout Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. It will fit the interests of students from K-12 and have an education curriculum guide to it. Boone County Schools will staff the Makerspace.

And it will be open to the public, likely for a nominal fee to cover costs of supplies.

Leadership NKY hopes to raise more money and get tech donations so that the kids don't run out of either materials or things to do.

Wyatt said it just made sense to him and his friends to have a place where kids can invent and experiment.

"I always learned better by doing things than by having a teacher read from a book," he said. "Me and my brother have a lot of ideas. I think it's going to get kind of popular."

Boone County Schools Deputy Superintendent Karen Cheser said the adults have learned a lot from the Brainy Bots, including her two boys, Wyatt and Will Henry Richards.

"I think it shows you the power of what kids can do. Even kids that are 12, 13, 14 years old," said Cheser.

"Kids can change the world."

How to help

Give resources, equipment, time or funding. Sponsorships are also available.

Call Boone County Schools Deputy Superintendent Karen Cheser: 859-282-3327

Donate to:

Boone County Education Foundation

8330 US HWY 42

Florence, KY 41042

For more: Visit NKY Makerspace on Facebook.

Follow the project on Twitter: @nkymakerspace

Here's an excerpt from the Junior Brainy Bots letter to Leadership NKY:

"Kids could make prototypes and print them out on 3-D printers so they come to life. They can learn about circuits and electricity by inventing new objects with the Makey-Makey. Kids could also learn how to code and program for future jobs. There is even a space for an outdoor classroom."

The Junior Brainy Bots, sixth and seventh graders, are: Wyatt Richards, Lucy Lawal, Kate Grayson, Mina Ryumae, Colin MacLagan, James Funk, Audrey Wilson.

The Brainy Bots, ninth graders, are: Alex Wilson, Will Henry Richards, Ken Ryumae, Zach St. Hillaire, Willis Dickson, Tanner Schmidt.