Guidelines for Making an Accessible and Universal Makerspace #4thOfJuly #AmericanMakers

The University of Washington created a set of guidelines for makerspaces to be more inclusive.

Many engineering departments, libraries, and universities are launching new initiatives to create makerspaces, physical spaces where students, faculty, and the broader community can gather and share resources and knowledge, work on projects, network, and build. In creating these innovative spaces we should apply principles of universal design to ensure the spaces, tools, and community are accessible to as many individuals as possible.

Universal design encourages the design of space, products, and processes not just for the average user, but for people with a broad range of abilities, ages, reading levels, learning styles, languages, cultures, and other characteristics. Makerspaces foster innovation, and we want to ensure that individuals of all backgrounds and abilities can actively contribute to the design process. We advocate for participatory design where individuals from diverse backgrounds bring their unique experiences and perspectives to the design process. This document outlines guidelines, questions, and best practices to consider in creating, retrofitting, or maintaining makerspaces.

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