Introducing Our Making Spaces Cohort 1

The AIMS Center is excited to announce the first AIMS Making Spaces Cohort! Four local sites were selected to participate in the AIMS Making Spaces Program with a shared mission to engage young people and families in high-quality maker education. Over the next two years, the AIMS Center will collaborate with our partner sites to develop a vision for each site’s maker-centered programming, grow pedagogical strategies, shift educator practices, build capacity for integrating making in meaningful ways, and raise community awareness around making.

Together, we can transform youth experiences through making throughout the Central Valley!

Exceptional Parents Unlimited

Exceptional Parents Unlimited Children’s Center strengthens and empowers children and families facing extraordinary medical, developmental, and parenting challenges developing a wide range of programs and services in response to the expressed needs of the families in the community. With over 4,000 children and families served each year, EPU has become a national leader in providing and promoting comprehensive, family-centered services through five major programs. The Family Resource Center provides Resources and Referral, Parent to Parent Support, and help navigating systems that serve families in the Central Valley. The program is staffed with parents and close family members of children with disabilities.

Fresno Pacific University

Fresno Pacific University is a vibrant Christ‐centered university that is transforming California’s Central Valley and global communities through exemplary service to students of all ethnicities and cultures. Innovative programs encourage academic and professional excellence, peacemaking, social justice, ethical leadership, holistic wellness, and spiritual vitality. Fresno Pacific is a nationally recognized university nestled in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley with expert faculty who are dedicated to student success.

Madera County Library

Madera County Library's mission is to strengthen communities by providing a place for everyone to connect, learn, and grow. Each of their five locations offers resources, programs, and services to meet the needs of their unique and diverse communities. The library aims to have something for everyone to support learning and growth through all stages of life. Bilingual storytimes, workshops for parents and caregivers, STEAM programs and exhibits, and benchmark Summer Reading and Art Programs are only some of the programs offered for free to the public. 

Rafer Johnson Junior High School

Rafer Johnson Junior High (RJJH) school is part of the Kingsburg Elementary Charter School District (KECSD).  Located in the heart of the Central Valley, KECSD is unique in that the schools are structured by grade level to maintain a sense of strong community.  Their programs, such as technical education, have provided the opportunity to think and act creatively in response to the needs of the families in their community.  Guided by the mission statement, “We will find a way for ALL students to learn,” RJJH is committed to increasing student participation in creative, maker-centered learning.

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The AIMS Making Spaces Program is a 30-month professional learning and capacity building program designed to support local leadership around maker education and build the foundation for lasting, embedded change in pedagogy, community, and culture.