In the Press
  • InHub

inHub Community Programs and Activities Recap

  • April 21, 2022

2022 is off to an exciting start for inHub so far. We are proud to have partnered with fantastic organizations to put on workshops and webinars for our educator audience, including welcoming back over 140 educators to The Henry Ford for an in-person experience. We’re also happy to welcome students back on campus for awe-inspiring field trips and we’re pleased to report that our Tinkering for Tots programming has been extremely well-received by our youngest learners and their parents. Here’s a look at the programming we’ve done so far this year!

 

Tinkering for Tots

The PNC Tinkering for Tots program has seen a steady increase in attendance in 2022! In total, 185 young learners have joined us this year for a story, mini field trip to a museum artifact, and a take-home craft kit. Each month focuses on one of the Habits of Innovators, like Collaborate and Learn from Failure. We continue to optimize the program, with the biggest change being that the program now takes place in the Drive-in Studio instead of the plaza. We have found that having a customizable space is more comfortable for families and has allowed us to make some more accessibility accommodations, like projecting pictures of the book and having a quiet space. While this program is open to the public, we are pleased that we have also been able to welcome preschoolers from Brilliant Detroit and Detroit Public Schools Community District’s Grow-Up program.

Regular attendees have told us that their children love coming every month and appreciate that the program is running again after its pandemic hiatus. One teacher summed up her thoughts about Tinkering in one succinct sentence: “It’s a hit!”

 

Storytelling in the Classroom: Conception and Connection

On February 19 and 26, The Henry Ford’s inHub was thrilled to welcome Mosaic Film Experience as they presented a two-part workshop called Storytelling in the Classroom. Seventeen educators joined this 2-part workshop to explore the digital storytelling process from storyboarding to creating a shot list to filming. Then, educators received some tangible tips on editing and distributing their short films. We look forward to future collaborations with partners like Mosaic Film Experience that share inHub’s foundational value of learning by doing!

 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Invention, Engineering and Entrepreneurship Education

Under the leadership of the Jacobson Institute at the University of Iowa, The Henry Ford was pleased to participate in an 8-week workshop series from January-March on integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion into invention, engineering, and entrepreneurship education. The series engaged 11 educators from across the country in conversations about culturally responsive teaching, teaching content that students can see themselves in, and creating inclusive real-world assignments. Educators then spent several weeks developing implementation plans that outline how they will embed what they learned into their classrooms.

 

Detroit Public School Community District (DPSCD) Field Trips

Throughout the month of March, our Learning and Engagement team facilitated over 2,000 5th graders from the Detroit Public School Community District who visited the museum as part of the Cultural Passport program. Students were given a scavenger hunt to work on where they learned about the habits and actions of innovation and connected them to stories found throughout the exhibits.

 

Wayne RESA Maker-STEM Summit

On Thursday, March 24 The Henry Ford hosted 142 Southeast Michigan educators for Wayne RESA’s third annual Maker-STEM Summit. The Summit engages attendees in the maker mindset of “learning by doing” and ways to expand maker and STEM opportunities for students. This is the second time we’ve hosted the summit since 2019 as the event was cancelled in 2020 and then held virtually in 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Learning & Engagement team, with key help from the Event Sales, Catering, and A/V teams, collaborated closely with Wayne RESA staff to transform Lovett Hall Ballroom, Foyer, Lobby, and Library into learning spaces for a keynote address, breakout sessions, and a live makerspace. The event was also supported by the MiSTEM Network’s Wayne Regional STEM Network, Community Telecommunications Network, and the AREN Project.

During the Summit, Olivia Marsh, Lucie Howell, and Phil Grumm held a breakout session with 30 educators that connected The Henry Ford’s Model i Innovation Learning Framework to making and creativity. They each led a small group through Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation to explore artifacts, stories, and exhibits. Through this exploration, the participating educators walked away with relevant, tangible examples to embed in their classrooms. The examples help students connect with and understand the actions and habits innovators use so that they can develop their own innovative mindsets to identify human-centered needs and think up creative solutions.

Other sessions throughout the day included how to adapt activities using educational technology tools to meet the needs of those with physical and cognitive disabilities, promoting STEM through literature, integrating computer science skills, and setting up a school’s makerspace. Attendees left having explored maker-centered tools and trends, acquired new classroom resources, collaborated with maker-minded practitioners, and became aware of state-wide partnerships that help build capacity and opportunity for hands-on learning.

Although we were sad to see the day end, we look forward to (hopefully) working with Wayne RESA for next year’s Summit to keep engaging our local community of educators.