On June 19, as part of IDSA Chicago's morning Coffee Conversations lecture series at the Institute of Design, Dale Fahnstrom gave an enlightening overview of the MacArthur Foundation funded project "Thinkering Spaces". The research project focuses on developing spaces that encourage school age children to tinker with things, both physical and virtual, reflect upon what they discover, and elaborate their ideas in ways they can share with others. The presentation spawned discussion among the audience about the efficacies of public libraries and institutions, what shared spaces could mean for kids, and how public spaces could be utilized for learning activities in today's digital age. As the first recipient of the IDSA Midwest Educational Honor Award, Dale further demonstrated his dedication to education by through this exploratory project that attempts to understand why kids want to learn and what environments are conducive to it. See www.thinkeringspaces.org for more information on the project.
Labels: "coffee conversations", photos
