This project designs accessible, technology-rich makerspaces and STEM maker activities for youth and young adults with autism in Baltimore, using input from therapists, educators, and learners to build three community makerspaces, educator training, and mixed-methods research on impacts to empowerment, STEM attitudes, and educator self-efficacy.
It’s a collaboration between Digital Harbor Foundation, UMBC, Kennedy Krieger Institute, GWWO Architects, and MN Associates, and will produce shareable resources like a design framework, training module, and research findings via a project website, Digital Harbor’s Localization Toolkit, and Kennedy Krieger’s school network.
Funded by NSF’s Advancing Informal STEM Learning program, it directly reaches 90 learners and 20 educators/experts while advancing broader knowledge of accessible informal STEM education.