創客運動：人人都能做創客

在我們多數人還不知何為創客運動的時候，創客運動已經在美國乃至世界范圍內形成了一股勢不可擋的風潮。說白了，創客運動就是DIY的革新版，立足于現代科技的發展，使DIY從傳統的手工制作變成上至發明創造高科技技術，下至自制一只手鐲的創造運動。其參與者既有“高大上”的科技界精英，亦不乏平凡如你我的普通人，甚至還包括八九歲的小毛孩兒們。鑒于其掀起的全民性的創造風潮，有人將創客運動稱為“現代工業革命”，而這一切的實現都離不開創客空間。創客運動是如何興起的？目前發展如何？創客空間又是什么？這些問題都可以在下文中找到答案。

Think of the colorful Mt. Elliott Makerspace as a playroom where tools—such as soldering irons and electronics—are the toys. A bank1） of Macs and PCs lines one wall where kids can research how to make things， learn to mix2） music with Garage Band3）， or build their own digital world with Minecraft4）. Windows behind the computers—a sort of bridge between the 20th and 21st centuries—offer a full view of a retired machinist's5） woodworking shop. Bookshelves stuffed with remote-control cars， arts-and-crafts supplies and beginning robotics kits6） flank7） a doorway leading to a bike shop. A pile of circuit boards and hard drives sits in a corner next to a disassembled electric wheelchair lying in wait for curious tinkerers8）.

Across the room， two sixth-grade girls hunch9） with furrowed brows over wooden treasure boxes. Zwena Gray grips a screwdriver-sized soldering iron； a wisp of wood smoke curls around her wrist as she touches the heated tip to the box. Her friend Raven Holston-Turner presses the flat nib10） of a wood burner to the penciled words \"Free to be me\" on her box.

Zwena and Raven are the earnest forward guard of a new industrial revolution—the modern maker movement. Makers may be knitters11）， mechanics， electronics tinkerers or even masters of the new 3-D printing process—people reconnecting with the idea of do-it-yourself and working with their hands.

And at the heart of this movement are so-called makerspaces that welcome a diverse group of builders， hackers12） and hobbyists who share resources and knowledge. Some are housed in existing community centers such as libraries， museums or youth centers. All—and hundreds have cropped up13） in the past decade in the United States—center on a love of tinkering and a desire to manipulate14） the functional world.

In these spaces， students who no longer have access to wood and machine shops in school， entrepreneurs who have a great idea but little capital15） to invest in the equipment necessary to build a prototype， and adults who long for a creative break from staring at computer screens all come together to work， to collaborate， to create.

Do vs. Think

Today， a deep division between those who \"do\" and those who \"think\" has grown as many middle and high schools across the country have whittled away16） technical arts， home economics and creative arts programs because of budget restrictions and the increased academic pressures of standardized testing.

That divide was palpable17） for Neil Gershenfeld when he came to the educational fork in the road in the ninth grade in the 1970s. He asked to enroll in vocational school18） because \"that's where you learn to weld19） and fix cars and do cool stuff\". But， he recalls， \"I was told I wasn't allowed because I was smart.\"

Years later， while working as an engineer for Bell Labs20）， he kept trying to go into the workshop and \"make stuff\". Once again， \"They said， 'Well， no， you're smart. You have to tell somebody else what to do，'\" says Professor Gershenfeld， now a mechanical engineer and director of the Center for Bits and Atoms at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology （MIT） in Cambridge.

All over the country， students today hear that same message： that smart kids should focus on academics and leave the manual arts to those who aren't destined for higher learning.

At Gershenfeld's Center for Bits and Atoms， the smart kids get to make what they think up. It is the mother of all makerspaces， a multimillion-dollar Fab Lab stocked21） with some of the most cutting-edge fabrication22） equipment in the world—from electron microscopes and water-jet cutters to traditional machining and woodworking tools. There， students develop machinery small enough to manipulate proteins or large enough to assemble airplanes.

While much of the equipment in the MIT lab costs millions of dollars， many components come in $1，000 to $10，000 versions. In an effort to see what others might do with access to these kinds of tools， he developed a template23） for similar labs that can be replicated anywhere for a moderate investment. For about $100，000 a Fab Lab can be stocked with a laser cutter； a CNC （Computer Numeric Control） machine capable of precision cutting， carving， drilling and machining； a 3-D printer and scanner； milling equipment； and hand-held machining tools.

Since 2007， a few hundred Fab Labs have sprouted all over the world from Northern Ireland to Bhutan， and all are connected virtually through a digital video bridge. The city of Barcelona， Spain， has installed several Fab Labs as part of an economic revival plan. The United Nations is even looking into establishing Fab Labs in refugee camps where children and adults who have no educational or professional opportunities can learn valuable skills.

The Maker Movement

As popular as Gershenfeld's model has become， the maker movement is much bigger than Fab Labs. In the US， more than 200 groups have registered their version with makerspace.com. Some are identified as hackerspaces， workshops or studios， but all fit under the larger umbrella of makerspaces.

The rise of maker culture has caught the attention of the Department of Defense （DOD） and the Obama administration. Mr. Obama pledged24） at the June White House Maker Faire to open up several of the nation's RD facilities to the public， and called on US mayors to promote makerspaces in their communities.

The DOD has its eye on the maker movement as a means to grow a generation of high-tech innovators. In 2011， the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency （DARPA） launched a four-year pilot program to integrate high-tech makerspaces into 1，000 high schools across the country in collaboration with local research universities. And last month， the DOD announced that DARPA will award $12.5 million in grants for the development of tools and curricula to train secondary and postsecondary students in design and manufacturing with high-tech equipment in low-tech environments.

In the past 18 months the decreasing price of 3-D printers， laser cutters and other digital fabrication equipment has enabled unlikely places such as libraries， schools and other community organizations to bring digital making to just about anyone.

The Center of a Kid's Universe

\"Community makerspaces can offer a different kind of exploration than is possible within the school environment，\" says former physics teacher Jackson Perrin of White Salmon， Washington. \"In science class you often start with the knowledge， and if you're lucky you get to solve a problem with that knowledge，\" Mr. Perrin says. \"The maker concept is the reverse of that， where you start with a problem and then you figure out what knowledge you need to solve the problem.\" That's exactly what Zwena loves about the Mt. Elliott Makerspace.

\"Could you imagine if every single child in the world had the great opportunity， like me， to have a makerspace in their community？\" Zwena says， \"Even better， imagine if every classroom was a place that every child could fail， without fear， on their way to success.\"

不妨將多彩的埃利奧特山社區創客空間看做是一個娛樂室，諸如電烙鐵和電子儀器這樣的工具就是里面的玩具。房間的一面墻前擺放著一排蘋果電腦和個人電腦，孩子們可以在這里上網研究發明創造，學習利用“車庫樂隊”軟件來混錄樂曲，或是通過《我的世界》游戲來打造自己的數字天地。電腦后面的幾個櫥窗像是連接20世紀與21世紀的一座橋，展示的是一位退休機械師的木工作坊的全景。通往一個自行車店的過道一側立著許多書架，上面塞滿了遙控車、手工藝制作用品和入門級的機器人制作套件。屋子的一角堆放著一些電路板和硬盤驅動器，它們旁邊則躺著一輛被拆卸開的電動輪椅，等著那些既愛擺弄東西又充滿好奇心的人前來光顧。

在房間的另一頭，兩名六年級的女生眉頭緊鎖，俯身湊在一些木制的百寶箱前。茲韋娜·格雷手里攥著一個螺絲刀大小的電烙鐵，滾燙的電烙鐵頭一觸到木箱，便有一縷木頭燒灼產生的青煙繞上她的手腕。她的朋友雷文·霍爾斯頓-特納手持一只帶有扁平筆頭的烙畫筆，用力描著寫在她那個百寶箱上的鉛筆字“自由自在做自己”。

茲韋娜和雷文是現代創客運動這場新工業革命中走在前列的最熱忱的守衛者。創客可以是編織愛好者、機械師、愛擺弄電子產品的人，甚至還可以是新興的3D打印技術能手。創客就是那些將自己動手的理念和親自動手實踐重新聯系起來的人。

而處于這場運動中心的就是所謂的創客空間——它面向愿意分享資源和知識的各類群體開放，包括建造者、改客、業余愛好者。有些創客空間就位于現有的社區中心，比如圖書館、博物館和青少年活動中心。近十年來（編注：英文原文發表于2014年7月），美國涌現出了上百個創客空間，所有的創客空間都圍繞一個核心理念而設立：熱愛擺弄東西且渴望駕馭這個講求實用的世界。

在這些創客空間里，那些無法再從學校里弄到木材也不再有機械車間可去的學生、那些懷揣絕妙創意但卻沒錢購買制作樣品所必需的設備的創業者，以及那些渴望暫別電腦屏幕去發揮創意的成年人全都聚到了一起，攜手合作，共同創造。

做與想

如今，由于預算限制和日益增加的標準化考試的學業壓力，全美的很多初中和高中都逐漸削減了工藝課、家政課和創意藝術等課程，結果導致“動手做”一族和“動腦想”一族之間的鴻溝不斷加深。

尼爾·格申菲爾德就曾直面過這樣的鴻溝。20世紀70年代，讀九年級的尼爾·格申菲爾德來到了教育的分叉口。他想讀技校，因為“在那里才能學電焊和汽修，做一些很酷的事情”。然而，他回憶說：“當時我卻被告誡說不許讀技校，因為我是個聰明學生。”

多年以后，雖說格申菲爾德成了貝爾實驗室的一名工程師，但他一直想走進加工車間去“制作點東西”。然而，同樣的情形再次出現了。“他們說，‘唔，不行，你是個聰明人，你得去指導別人怎么做。’” 格申菲爾德教授說道。他現在是劍橋市麻省理工學院比特與原子研究中心主任兼機械工程師。

如今，全美上下的學生都能聽到同樣的教導：聰明的孩子應該專注于學業，要把手工制作留給那些注定無緣更高教育的人去做。

但在格申菲爾德的比特與原子研究中心，聰明的孩子可以去制作他們自己想出來的東西。這個創新實驗室是所有創客空間的鼻祖，耗資數百萬美元建成，配備著數臺全球最尖端的制造設備，從電子顯微鏡、水刀切割機到傳統的機械加工和木材加工工具都有。在這里，學生們研制小到可以操縱蛋白質，大到可以組裝飛機的機械設備。

盡管麻省理工學院這個創新實驗室的大部分設備耗資數百萬美元，但許多部件卻是1000～10，000美元的各個價位都有。為了弄清楚其他人能用上這類設備時可能會做出些什么，格申菲爾德開發了一個模板，用以建造類似的實驗室——這樣的實驗室只需中等規模的投資，就能在任何地方照著復制。投資約十萬美元建成的創新實驗室可以擁有如下配置：一臺激光切割機，一臺能夠實現精密切割、雕刻、鉆孔和加工的計算機數控機床，一臺3D打印機兼掃描儀，研磨設備和若干手持式加工工具。

自2007年以來，從北愛爾蘭到不丹，世界各地涌現出了數百個創新實驗室，并且幾乎全都通過一個數字視頻網橋實現了連接。西班牙的巴塞羅那市已經建成好幾個創新實驗室，將其作為經濟復蘇計劃的組成部分。聯合國甚至考慮在難民營里設立創新實驗室，讓沒有受教育機會和工作機會的小孩和大人學到一些寶貴的技能。

創客運動

格申菲爾德式的創新實驗室已經夠流行了，不過創客運動卻規模更甚。在美國，已有不止200個團體在makerspace.com網站上注冊了各自的創客空間網站，其中一些網站雖以改客空間、制作作坊或工作室的形式出現，但都歸到“創客空間”這一大類下。

創客文化的興起已經引起了美國國防部和奧巴馬政府的關注。奧巴馬總統在6月的“白宮創客大會”上承諾，要向公眾開放一些國家研發設施，并呼吁美國各地市長在當地社區推廣創客空間。

美國國防部已將創客運動視為培養新一代高科技創新人才的一條途徑。2011年，美國國防部高級研究計劃局（簡稱高研局）推出了一個為期四年的試點項目，旨在將高科技創客空間整合到全美的1000所高中，并與當地研究型大學展開合作。上個月，美國國防部宣布，高研局將撥款1250萬美元用于工具和課程的開發，以便為技術落后地區的中學以及高等院校的學生提供高科技設備，培養他們的設計和制造能力。

在過去18個月里，3D打印機、激光切割機以及其他數字制造設備的價格不斷下降，這使得諸如圖書館、學校以及其他社區組織等不太可能買得起這些東西的地方給了幾乎每個人接觸數字制作的機會。

少兒世界的中心

“社區的創客空間能夠提供完全不同于學校環境下可能提供的探索體驗。”杰克遜·佩林說。佩林曾是華盛頓州懷特薩蒙市的一名物理教師，他說：“在科學課上，你一般先學知識，如果幸運的話，你可以用所學的知識去解決某個問題。而創客理念正好相反，你需要先從某個問題入手，然后去弄清楚你要解決這個問題得掌握什么樣的知識。”這正是茲韋娜喜愛埃利奧特山社區創客空間的原因。

“假如世界上的每個孩子都能像我一樣擁有這么棒的機會，能在自己所在的社區擁有一個創客空間，你能想象那會怎樣嗎？” 茲韋娜說，“更妙的是，想象一下，如果每間教室都是這樣一個地方，那里的孩子可以在通往成功的道路上毫無畏懼地去失敗，那又會怎樣？”

1.bank [b??k] n. （長條形的）堆，團

2.mix [m?ks] vt. 混錄； 混合錄制

3.Garage Band： 車庫樂隊，一款數碼音樂創作軟件，是蘋果電腦上的應用程序套裝iLife的一部分。這個應用軟件并不是以專業作曲為目標，而是為了使業余愛好者更容易制作音樂。它包括了1000段預錄的樣本旋律和50種合成樂器樣本，并能用連接電腦的MIDI鍵盤或屏幕鍵盤演奏。

4.Minecraft： 一款自由度很高的沙盒游戲，中文非官方譯名有《我的世界》《當個創世神》《麥塊》等。該游戲允許玩家在三維空間中自由地創造和摧毀不同種類的方塊，以此來創造精妙絕倫的建筑物和藝術品。

5.machinist [m???i?n?st] n. （尤指工廠的）機工，機械師

6.kit [k?t] n. 成套工具；成套設備；配套元件

7.flank [fl??k] vt. 放在……兩側（有時指一側）

8.tinkerer： 請參見P55注釋8

9.hunch [h?nt?] vi. （常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦而）聳肩弓身，蜷起身子

10.nib [n?b] n. （鋼筆等的）筆尖

11.knitter [?n?t?（r）] n. 編織者；針織工

12.hacker： 請參見P55注釋7

13.crop up： （常指出其不意地）出現，發生

14.manipulate [m??n?pjule?t] vt. 操作；操縱

15.capital [?k?p?tl] n. 資本；資金

16.whittle away： 逐漸減少；逐漸削弱

17.palpable [?p?lp?bl] adj. 可感知的；易察覺的；明顯的

18.vocational school： 職業學校；技術學校

19.weld [weld] vt. 焊接；熔接；鍛接

Think of the colorful Mt. Elliott Makerspace as a playroom where tools—such as soldering irons and electronics—are the toys. A bank1） of Macs and PCs lines one wall where kids can research how to make things， learn to mix2） music with Garage Band3）， or build their own digital world with Minecraft4）. Windows behind the computers—a sort of bridge between the 20th and 21st centuries—offer a full view of a retired machinist's5） woodworking shop. Bookshelves stuffed with remote-control cars， arts-and-crafts supplies and beginning robotics kits6） flank7） a doorway leading to a bike shop. A pile of circuit boards and hard drives sits in a corner next to a disassembled electric wheelchair lying in wait for curious tinkerers8）.

Across the room， two sixth-grade girls hunch9） with furrowed brows over wooden treasure boxes. Zwena Gray grips a screwdriver-sized soldering iron； a wisp of wood smoke curls around her wrist as she touches the heated tip to the box. Her friend Raven Holston-Turner presses the flat nib10） of a wood burner to the penciled words \"Free to be me\" on her box.

Zwena and Raven are the earnest forward guard of a new industrial revolution—the modern maker movement. Makers may be knitters11）， mechanics， electronics tinkerers or even masters of the new 3-D printing process—people reconnecting with the idea of do-it-yourself and working with their hands.

And at the heart of this movement are so-called makerspaces that welcome a diverse group of builders， hackers12） and hobbyists who share resources and knowledge. Some are housed in existing community centers such as libraries， museums or youth centers. All—and hundreds have cropped up13） in the past decade in the United States—center on a love of tinkering and a desire to manipulate14） the functional world.

In these spaces， students who no longer have access to wood and machine shops in school， entrepreneurs who have a great idea but little capital15） to invest in the equipment necessary to build a prototype， and adults who long for a creative break from staring at computer screens all come together to work， to collaborate， to create.

Do vs. Think

Today， a deep division between those who \"do\" and those who \"think\" has grown as many middle and high schools across the country have whittled away16） technical arts， home economics and creative arts programs because of budget restrictions and the increased academic pressures of standardized testing.

That divide was palpable17） for Neil Gershenfeld when he came to the educational fork in the road in the ninth grade in the 1970s. He asked to enroll in vocational school18） because \"that's where you learn to weld19） and fix cars and do cool stuff\". But， he recalls， \"I was told I wasn't allowed because I was smart.\"

Years later， while working as an engineer for Bell Labs20）， he kept trying to go into the workshop and \"make stuff\". Once again， \"They said， 'Well， no， you're smart. You have to tell somebody else what to do，'\" says Professor Gershenfeld， now a mechanical engineer and director of the Center for Bits and Atoms at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology （MIT） in Cambridge.

All over the country， students today hear that same message： that smart kids should focus on academics and leave the manual arts to those who aren't destined for higher learning.

At Gershenfeld's Center for Bits and Atoms， the smart kids get to make what they think up. It is the mother of all makerspaces， a multimillion-dollar Fab Lab stocked21） with some of the most cutting-edge fabrication22） equipment in the world—from electron microscopes and water-jet cutters to traditional machining and woodworking tools. There， students develop machinery small enough to manipulate proteins or large enough to assemble airplanes.

While much of the equipment in the MIT lab costs millions of dollars， many components come in $1，000 to $10，000 versions. In an effort to see what others might do with access to these kinds of tools， he developed a template23） for similar labs that can be replicated anywhere for a moderate investment. For about $100，000 a Fab Lab can be stocked with a laser cutter； a CNC （Computer Numeric Control） machine capable of precision cutting， carving， drilling and machining； a 3-D printer and scanner； milling equipment； and hand-held machining tools.

Since 2007， a few hundred Fab Labs have sprouted all over the world from Northern Ireland to Bhutan， and all are connected virtually through a digital video bridge. The city of Barcelona， Spain， has installed several Fab Labs as part of an economic revival plan. The United Nations is even looking into establishing Fab Labs in refugee camps where children and adults who have no educational or professional opportunities can learn valuable skills.

The Maker Movement

As popular as Gershenfeld's model has become， the maker movement is much bigger than Fab Labs. In the US， more than 200 groups have registered their version with makerspace.com. Some are identified as hackerspaces， workshops or studios， but all fit under the larger umbrella of makerspaces.

The rise of maker culture has caught the attention of the Department of Defense （DOD） and the Obama administration. Mr. Obama pledged24） at the June White House Maker Faire to open up several of the nation's RD facilities to the public， and called on US mayors to promote makerspaces in their communities.

The DOD has its eye on the maker movement as a means to grow a generation of high-tech innovators. In 2011， the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency （DARPA） launched a four-year pilot program to integrate high-tech makerspaces into 1，000 high schools across the country in collaboration with local research universities. And last month， the DOD announced that DARPA will award $12.5 million in grants for the development of tools and curricula to train secondary and postsecondary students in design and manufacturing with high-tech equipment in low-tech environments.

In the past 18 months the decreasing price of 3-D printers， laser cutters and other digital fabrication equipment has enabled unlikely places such as libraries， schools and other community organizations to bring digital making to just about anyone.

The Center of a Kid's Universe

\"Community makerspaces can offer a different kind of exploration than is possible within the school environment，\" says former physics teacher Jackson Perrin of White Salmon， Washington. \"In science class you often start with the knowledge， and if you're lucky you get to solve a problem with that knowledge，\" Mr. Perrin says. \"The maker concept is the reverse of that， where you start with a problem and then you figure out what knowledge you need to solve the problem.\" That's exactly what Zwena loves about the Mt. Elliott Makerspace.

\"Could you imagine if every single child in the world had the great opportunity， like me， to have a makerspace in their community？\" Zwena says， \"Even better， imagine if every classroom was a place that every child could fail， without fear， on their way to success.\"

不妨將多彩的埃利奧特山社區創客空間看做是一個娛樂室，諸如電烙鐵和電子儀器這樣的工具就是里面的玩具。房間的一面墻前擺放著一排蘋果電腦和個人電腦，孩子們可以在這里上網研究發明創造，學習利用“車庫樂隊”軟件來混錄樂曲，或是通過《我的世界》游戲來打造自己的數字天地。電腦后面的幾個櫥窗像是連接20世紀與21世紀的一座橋，展示的是一位退休機械師的木工作坊的全景。通往一個自行車店的過道一側立著許多書架，上面塞滿了遙控車、手工藝制作用品和入門級的機器人制作套件。屋子的一角堆放著一些電路板和硬盤驅動器，它們旁邊則躺著一輛被拆卸開的電動輪椅，等著那些既愛擺弄東西又充滿好奇心的人前來光顧。

在房間的另一頭，兩名六年級的女生眉頭緊鎖，俯身湊在一些木制的百寶箱前。茲韋娜·格雷手里攥著一個螺絲刀大小的電烙鐵，滾燙的電烙鐵頭一觸到木箱，便有一縷木頭燒灼產生的青煙繞上她的手腕。她的朋友雷文·霍爾斯頓-特納手持一只帶有扁平筆頭的烙畫筆，用力描著寫在她那個百寶箱上的鉛筆字“自由自在做自己”。

茲韋娜和雷文是現代創客運動這場新工業革命中走在前列的最熱忱的守衛者。創客可以是編織愛好者、機械師、愛擺弄電子產品的人，甚至還可以是新興的3D打印技術能手。創客就是那些將自己動手的理念和親自動手實踐重新聯系起來的人。

而處于這場運動中心的就是所謂的創客空間——它面向愿意分享資源和知識的各類群體開放，包括建造者、改客、業余愛好者。有些創客空間就位于現有的社區中心，比如圖書館、博物館和青少年活動中心。近十年來（編注：英文原文發表于2014年7月），美國涌現出了上百個創客空間，所有的創客空間都圍繞一個核心理念而設立：熱愛擺弄東西且渴望駕馭這個講求實用的世界。

在這些創客空間里，那些無法再從學校里弄到木材也不再有機械車間可去的學生、那些懷揣絕妙創意但卻沒錢購買制作樣品所必需的設備的創業者，以及那些渴望暫別電腦屏幕去發揮創意的成年人全都聚到了一起，攜手合作，共同創造。

做與想

如今，由于預算限制和日益增加的標準化考試的學業壓力，全美的很多初中和高中都逐漸削減了工藝課、家政課和創意藝術等課程，結果導致“動手做”一族和“動腦想”一族之間的鴻溝不斷加深。

尼爾·格申菲爾德就曾直面過這樣的鴻溝。20世紀70年代，讀九年級的尼爾·格申菲爾德來到了教育的分叉口。他想讀技校，因為“在那里才能學電焊和汽修，做一些很酷的事情”。然而，他回憶說：“當時我卻被告誡說不許讀技校，因為我是個聰明學生。”

多年以后，雖說格申菲爾德成了貝爾實驗室的一名工程師，但他一直想走進加工車間去“制作點東西”。然而，同樣的情形再次出現了。“他們說，‘唔，不行，你是個聰明人，你得去指導別人怎么做。’” 格申菲爾德教授說道。他現在是劍橋市麻省理工學院比特與原子研究中心主任兼機械工程師。

如今，全美上下的學生都能聽到同樣的教導：聰明的孩子應該專注于學業，要把手工制作留給那些注定無緣更高教育的人去做。

但在格申菲爾德的比特與原子研究中心，聰明的孩子可以去制作他們自己想出來的東西。這個創新實驗室是所有創客空間的鼻祖，耗資數百萬美元建成，配備著數臺全球最尖端的制造設備，從電子顯微鏡、水刀切割機到傳統的機械加工和木材加工工具都有。在這里，學生們研制小到可以操縱蛋白質，大到可以組裝飛機的機械設備。

盡管麻省理工學院這個創新實驗室的大部分設備耗資數百萬美元，但許多部件卻是1000～10，000美元的各個價位都有。為了弄清楚其他人能用上這類設備時可能會做出些什么，格申菲爾德開發了一個模板，用以建造類似的實驗室——這樣的實驗室只需中等規模的投資，就能在任何地方照著復制。投資約十萬美元建成的創新實驗室可以擁有如下配置：一臺激光切割機，一臺能夠實現精密切割、雕刻、鉆孔和加工的計算機數控機床，一臺3D打印機兼掃描儀，研磨設備和若干手持式加工工具。

自2007年以來，從北愛爾蘭到不丹，世界各地涌現出了數百個創新實驗室，并且幾乎全都通過一個數字視頻網橋實現了連接。西班牙的巴塞羅那市已經建成好幾個創新實驗室，將其作為經濟復蘇計劃的組成部分。聯合國甚至考慮在難民營里設立創新實驗室，讓沒有受教育機會和工作機會的小孩和大人學到一些寶貴的技能。

創客運動

格申菲爾德式的創新實驗室已經夠流行了，不過創客運動卻規模更甚。在美國，已有不止200個團體在makerspace.com網站上注冊了各自的創客空間網站，其中一些網站雖以改客空間、制作作坊或工作室的形式出現，但都歸到“創客空間”這一大類下。

創客文化的興起已經引起了美國國防部和奧巴馬政府的關注。奧巴馬總統在6月的“白宮創客大會”上承諾，要向公眾開放一些國家研發設施，并呼吁美國各地市長在當地社區推廣創客空間。

美國國防部已將創客運動視為培養新一代高科技創新人才的一條途徑。2011年，美國國防部高級研究計劃局（簡稱高研局）推出了一個為期四年的試點項目，旨在將高科技創客空間整合到全美的1000所高中，并與當地研究型大學展開合作。上個月，美國國防部宣布，高研局將撥款1250萬美元用于工具和課程的開發，以便為技術落后地區的中學以及高等院校的學生提供高科技設備，培養他們的設計和制造能力。

在過去18個月里，3D打印機、激光切割機以及其他數字制造設備的價格不斷下降，這使得諸如圖書館、學校以及其他社區組織等不太可能買得起這些東西的地方給了幾乎每個人接觸數字制作的機會。

少兒世界的中心

“社區的創客空間能夠提供完全不同于學校環境下可能提供的探索體驗。”杰克遜·佩林說。佩林曾是華盛頓州懷特薩蒙市的一名物理教師，他說：“在科學課上，你一般先學知識，如果幸運的話，你可以用所學的知識去解決某個問題。而創客理念正好相反，你需要先從某個問題入手，然后去弄清楚你要解決這個問題得掌握什么樣的知識。”這正是茲韋娜喜愛埃利奧特山社區創客空間的原因。

“假如世界上的每個孩子都能像我一樣擁有這么棒的機會，能在自己所在的社區擁有一個創客空間，你能想象那會怎樣嗎？” 茲韋娜說，“更妙的是，想象一下，如果每間教室都是這樣一個地方，那里的孩子可以在通往成功的道路上毫無畏懼地去失敗，那又會怎樣？”