Making a Maker Event: Frontier Partners with WNYRIC and Buffalo Public Schools to Host Regional Event
What started with an idea, has transformed into a unique event that goes beyond the district level and extends to the whole region.
Frontier Central School Superintendent Dr. Richard J. Hughes attended the first ever Student STEAM Fest at the Rochester Maker Faire in November 2018 and moved to bring a similar experience to all students at Frontier. This idea soon combined with another program, RoboRAVE, an international not-for-profit collaborative robotics event.
Hughes enlisted Bob Spino, associate director of instructional technology and instructional technology resources at Erie 2 Chautauqua Cattaraugus BOCES and Antonio Scordo III, staff development coordinator at the Western New York Regional Information Center (WNYRIC) to help plan and execute the event. Spino has experience organizing the Fredonia Mini Maker Faire and Scordo is one of the creators and co-organizers of Maker Faire Rochester and the Student STEAM Fest.
“I want to commend Dr. Hughes, who brought classes to the Rochester Maker Faire STEAM Fest last year and wanted to put on one at Frontier so students could not just attend, but also present. When it comes to events like a maker faire, leadership is important in getting an idea off the ground and seeing it through,” Scordo said.
Also brought into the mix is Buffalo Public Schools to truly make this a regional effort and earning the name, Western New York Maker Expo and RoboRAVE. The event is slated for Saturday, March 28, 2020.
“We hope to have schools in the region join in and have student lead exhibits at the event. However, we also hope schools will bring enough students to switch out at their booths, so students also have some time to experience the event,” Scordo added. “The look on students’ faces when they see something new and want to know more is why we all do this.”
Scordo has helped other schools, like Wellsville, get their science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) or maker events off the ground, but says this project is different.
“In addition to having and educational focus, this event is going to be more than a maker expo, there is also the RoboRAVE component and the fact that it is regional,” Scordo said.
The event will soon be accepting booth signups. More information will be available soon.