Making and engineering: Understanding similarities and differences

Abstract

What is a Maker? People from diverse backgrounds contribute to the emerging community of people of DIY-enthusiasts, tinkerers, and hobbyists. Makers embody the desire for innovation and ingenuity of future engineers. MAKE1 magazine and Maker Faire2 events allow others to experience what Makers make, and who they are. What is of particular interest are the similarities between Makers and Engineers. Two open ended question methods were used to define Makers and Engineers. Post-it notes were provided to respondents who were asked What is Making to You? and What is Engineering to You? Their responses were posted on a public wall and later collected for analysis. Select respondents were interviewed and asked how they defined themselves as a Maker and what engineering was to them. These responses were used to characterize both Makers and Engineers. From these methods popular and overlapping concepts were recorded. It was determined that Makers are similar to engineers within a wide variety of subjects. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2014.