Breaker Space - What is it?
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Students need to have the opportunity to explore, build and discover in a makerspace. This allows us to move beyond one-size fits all projects into a personalized constructivist approach to education. Most stations in a makerspace will encourage the construction of something. The breakerspace station will encourage just the opposite. Laura Fleming suggests setting up a Take-Apart Tech Station, or "breaker space", where technology and other classroom or household items are provided and designated for students specifically to disassemble and investigate and to build.
Students will have a chance to truly wonder, ask questions, take risks, and have no fear of doing something wrong! By providing some simple tools such as protective eye wear, scissors, hammers, gloves and old technology like broken down classroom computers, students can dissect and remix in your makerspace! 
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How can I use the Breaker Space in my makerspace?
The Breaker Space is a work station in a makerspace that has "misfit" toys and other broken electronics for students to disassemble and discover with. Student can use a breaker space to:
- take apart old technology just as a curiosity to see what is inside and discover how it works
- to repair something broken
- to harvest for parts
- to take a part, remix and reinvent something new
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Gather old electronics such as computers, dvd players, radios, cellphones, answering machines and electronic toys of all kinds. You will also need basic tools to help dismantle them and protective eye wear.
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Repair broken electronics and harvest for parts.
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Take apart, remix and create something new.
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Breaker Space Student Challenge!
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The Tinkering Studio in the Exploratorium has put together a fantastic breaker space lesson that challenges students to take apart old toys and consider hacking them to make something new. There are no wrong answers in a breaker space!
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