Innovation Guide - 2022 - 15

Fishers Maker Playground offers users
tools, technology and arts to encourage
imagination, curiosity, engineering, building
and more.
local maker community to determine
what people wanted to see within the
playground and what gaps could be
filled by providing opportunities that
were not being offered at other workshops
or maker spaces. Staff also collaborated
with the school district to
help build STEAM curriculum.
Fishers Parks and Recreation partnered
with the Hub and Spoke Institute
on the construction planning
and funding development and HSE
on curriculum development. A local
internet of things lab and community
co-working space, Launch Fishers,
also helped with initial planning ideas
and provided advice about roadblocks
to avoid at the start of the project.
Project Impacts
Initial data from the project shows
that in its first year, more than 1,500
fifth grade students, as well as 209
members, visited the Maker Playground.
In less than three months,
there were 84 reservations for the
computer numerical control (CNC)
laser cutter, and approximately 15
3-D printing projects are completed
per work week.
Fishers Parks and Recreation staff
also assert that they have received accolades
from community members
that data cannot convey. One member,
a woman in her 60s, thanked staff
for providing her with a platform to
learn new skills and keep her hands
active and her mind sharp. Members
also have written unsolicited letters to
the director of Fishers Parks and Recreation
and the mayor, thanking them
for offering a unique experience.
Looking to the Future
Fishers Parks and Recreation staff
use metrics, such as reservation
logs, to identify where the greatest
need is for new equipment. Additionally,
feedback from members
and other data are received in real
time, allowing staff to make adjustments
quickly when needed. For example,
based on feedback and visit
times, park hours were adjusted to
be open later on weekdays and not
as late on weekends.
As the program and space continue
to grow, staff will implement
member surveys and program participant
surveys, continue to solicit
feedback from visitors, seek advice
from community partners and work
with the school district to plan for
the future.
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | 2 0 22 INNO V AT ION GUIDE | Parks & Recreation
15
PHOTOS COURTESY OF FISHERS PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT
Innovation Guide - 2022

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