"Technically, He Shouldn't Be Here": A Teen Makerspace Makes Space for Legends

• In Event: 18.045 - Science Capital => STEM Capitxl: Practicing Theory in a Science Museum Youth Informal Learning Program

Abstract

Cyrus is a Legend. Soft-spoken, with his long locs tied back, Cyrus spends hours crafting beats at a computer in YOUmedia Hartford, a digital learning space free for any teen (13-19) with a public library card. The instant someone asks Cyrus to listen to their work, Cyrus saves his file and bounces over, popping on headphones, making suggestions, or even improvising lyrics on top of the beat to show his approval. Cyrus has been coming to YOUmedia since it opened in 2014. Cyrus is 23. According to the rules, Cyrus shouldn’t be there. YOUmedia’s mentors bend those rules. They see that Cyrus supports YOUmedia’s community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) through his presence: he is talented and knowledgeable, and he developed his expertise right there, at YOUmedia.

YOUmedia Hartford began giving longtime YOUmedia participants like Cyrus the opportunity to return as “Legends” in 2017. Mentors granted these young adults (19-24 years old) continued access to the space and its equipment. Legends occupy a liminal space between teen participant and the mentor staff. Like youth, Legends are free to hang out, mess around, or geek out in the space; they can come and go whenever they like; and they can use any of the space’s resources to pursue their interests. Like mentors, Legends possess deep knowledge of at least one production practice; they provide feedback, and support on the use of digital and material tools and resources; and they have the increased independence and power that come with adulthood. YOUmedia Hartford’s librarians are currently formalizing the “Legends” program as a way of recognizing young people’s expertise.

In this poster, I identify ways in which Legends provided valuable mentorship to teens through their presence in and use of YOUmedia’s space, based on observations of the Legends’ impact as well as interview data and process think-alouds from youth. I consider how the inclusion of Legends at YOUmedia both enhances and complicates a teen space that works hard to center youth voices. I also consider the learning and experience happening for the Legends, young people who are finding their ways into adulthood. This study draws on over 90 hours of observation, including notes, audio, video, interviews with mentors and youth, artifacts of youth work, and youth’s participatory multimodal documentation of the space. I situate my work within the complementary theoretical frameworks of embodiment and materiality (Bennett, Cheah, Orlie & Grosz, 2010), seeking to understand more about the meanings produced at the convergence of bodies, practices, and artifacts in a shared, socially produced space (Lefebrve, 1991; Soja, 2010).

This study of one learning space’s practices has implications for educators and designers of informal learning spaces for youth. As spaces like YOUmedia seek to develop young people’s pathways to expertise while preserving their right to follow interests and choose levels of participation, introducing the embodied presence of young adults who share a set of common experiences with the teens has potential to extend opportunities to learn (Gee, 2008) for teens and young adults alike.

Author

• Virginia Killian Lund, University of Illinois at Chicago