More than 100 students, teachers and parents spent six hours on a Saturday putting together mobile maker spaces for current and future students to use.

On March 25 students, teachers and parents constructed the spaces for students of Blackford Elementary School. The mobile spaces include 10 rolling whiteboard walls, 15 rolling tables and three rolling shelves.

The mobile maker spaces allow students to explore ideas, create inventions and learn about design through hands-on experience with tools and resources, according to the Campbell Union School District’s STEAM coach, Julie Goo.

“We want these spaces to encourage students to be innovative and creative,” she said.

Goo added that other schools within the district are creating their own STEAM spaces or maker spaces in libraries, classrooms or campus buildings. On March 18, Sherman Oaks Elementary School built mobile maker space, and Lynhaven Elementary School will build its own in April.

Blackford principal Corrine Frese said the maker space idea came during an administration meeting hosted by Resource Area for Teaching’s director Jason Pittman before the school year began.

The elementary school partnered with the nonprofit organization that provides classrooms with affordable project materials, prepackaged activity kits and lesson plans. Resource Area for Teaching, known as RAFT, has locations in San Jose, Redwood City and Sunnyvale.

“RAFT collects material access from corporations throughout the valley, and we turn it into educational resources,” Pittman said. “There are retail locations where teachers can shop. We turn some of those resources into kits for classrooms.”

On hand to teach students, parents and teachers how to construct the tables, shelves and boards was Project Ember, a Bay Area day camp that teaches kids how to design projects and then build them using power tools. According to co-founder Katie Richmond, this is the second time the organization has worked with the school district and the fourth time it has worked with RAFT.

For some students, and even teachers, this was their first time using a power tool; for others it almost seemed like second nature. John Ellzey III, a Campbell Middle School fifth-grader, helped his younger sister, Aryanna, use a cordless power drill.

“This is cool. This is something my sister will get to use at school,” John said of the maker spaces.

Younger children, a few of them 3 years old, helped their older siblings construct maker space tables and shelves throughout the day.

“We’re hoping students will gain a real world perspective on what they can do in terms of being creative and using critical thinking skills,” said Frese.