Cardboard Collaborative

Welcome to our go-to guide on how to design and host a cardboard-focused makerspace!  

This Cardboard Collaborative is the product of 10 years of work at the Science Museum of Minnesota and part of a larger collaboration with local community organizations to center BIPOC family priorities and experiences. This guide is intended to share what we’ve learned and support others to create their own cardboard maker worlds!

Making Design Principles

Designing drop-in makerspaces that are inclusive to a variety of families’ needs involves providing multiple entry points and ways to engage. We’ve identified six Design Principles that support families engaged in making. 

Activity Prompts & Inspiration

Throughout our makerspaces, we have found that activity prompts provide access points for both new and expert makers.

People, Materials, and Process

Staffing a makerspace can be labor-intensive, and sourcing materials challenging.

This material is based upon collaborative work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant #1906884, Building More Inclusive Makerspaces to Support Informal Engineering Learning Experiences. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.