Making Connections: Pandemic-Era Lessons from a Maker-Centered University–Community Partnership

Beta Lab Links connects UC Davis faculty and students with young people in the region to support them in imagining, designing, and building “maker” projects of their own choosing. The idea of “making” is broad and has a long history, but it has recently become associated with playful tinkering and design work that combines low-tech craft technologies (e.g., sewing, woodworking, and papercraft) with high-tech tools (e.g., microcontrollers, 3-D printers, software design). Advocates of maker-centered education emphasize its potential to foster STEM identity, knowledge, and skill development in a fun and inclusive environment. Typically, Beta Lab Links work in person at the schools or community centers youth already attend, using a mobile maker van to create “pop-up” making spaces. During COVID-19 closures, Beta Lab Links collaborated with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Sacramento to distribute maker kits to families and hold weekly online sessions with upper elementary-school-aged youth. These activities focused primarily on papercraft and electronics, as these were novel, STEM-rich, and did not require additional tools. This chapter shares Beta Lab’s core pedagogical commitments and explores how the move online provided a catalyst for reflection and new insights into processes of connection and community through making.