ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on children’s meaning-making during maker activity in the context of playful, story-like and hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics activities situated in Finnish early childhood education (ECE). Makerspaces have aroused some interest in Finnish science education, and internationally, as a potential means of creating meaningful and transformative connections between children’s everyday and scientific literacies. Sociocultural theorising also maintains that play is one expression of meaning-making that occurs across one’s lifespan. The critical dimension refers to critical engagement with science-related texts and communication, as well as being able to recognise those power relationships that are evident in all literacy practices. The maker project is deeply rooted in Finnish ECE and the latest curriculum reform. The data collection included observation, video-recording and collecting children’s artefacts over the whole maker project. Prior institutional and parental permission was granted for the children’s involvement in the research.
