When I first started the Stewart Makerspace back in 2014, one of the earliest tools that I purchased was a MaKeyMaKey. My students loved it, and because they are so affordable (only $50 each) I was able to get a set of 10 of them through a DonorsChoose project, allowing students to work on longer term projects without having to take it apart everytime. However, storing that many MaKeyMaKeys can be tricky. I started out with keeping them in the original boxes and storing them all together in a large plastic box, but it became difficult to wrangle all the wires back in each time.
Enter my easy, DIY MaKeyMaKey storage solution…
VHS holders!
Like many schools, I have TONS of empty VHS cases in my storage room. We don’t really need them anymore but yet I knew there would be something useful I could do with them. Turns out, they’re the perfect size to hold a MaKeyMaKey and all it’s wires. I used translucent ones so that I could see what was inside without opening them.
I gathered all the components for one MaKeyMaKey kit, put them (neatly-ish) in a case and then closed it up. After doing this for all ten of our kits, I stored them in that original plastic box (the generic size that you can get at any big box store). Turns out, those large plastic boxes are the perfect size for holding ten VHS cases 🙂
Now, when my students want to tinker with a MaKeyMaKey, they can easily grab a VHS case and have all the parts that they need on hand. And since they’re translucent, I can easily see which cases are missing parts or are in use.
It’s a simple solution, but sometimes the most basic solutions are the best ones.
What’s your favorite organization trick for makerspaces?
Thank you. I have tried many unsuccessful was to store my makey-makeys. This is a brilliant idea.
Great inspiration! I MIGHT TRY this with my so called” attention” needing learners in year 9. My area is Physics and Mathematics for years 11-13. Are there any suggestions, ready-made templates which could be use in groupss ?
Thank you Diana for sharing these.