Hive and Learning Networks

Learning Labs in Libraries & Museums
Grantee Convening
July 23-25, 2013
Pittsburgh, PA


Hive and Learning Networks


Hive NYC (Chris Lawrence, Director of Hive NYC, clawrence@mozillafoundation.org)

• Launched in 2007 and supported by Mozilla
• Youth came up with the name ‘Hive’ and graphics; focused on youth-serving organizations committed to transforming experiences; ‘threw things at the wall and saw what stuck’, ‘was all by accident but caught like wildfire’
• Within a year other cities were asking for advice on starting their own Hive
• Chicago (Mozilla) & Pittsburgh (Sprout Fund) are fully-functioning

Surge Columbus (Julie Scordato, Youth Services Manager at Columbus Metropolitan Library, jscordato@columbuslibrary.org)

• Network of 5 institutions doing learning labs: public media, library, arts center, science & industry center, museum of art
• Brought on an independent office of evaluators
• Brainstormed: audience (teens, parents, internal staff..) and outcomes
• Created a living document/logic model for the network
• Served as a map, touchstone (reminder of commitment)
• Each organization also developed a separate logic model
• Formed committees across the network (weekly or biweekly meetings): programming, promotion, sustainability, products, professional development

Pittsburgh Kids+Creativity Network

• Became the third Hive after building a network and realizing the need for contacts outside of the city and conversation about reimagining learning
• Approached the MacArthur Foundation to ask for support
• Hive Days of Summer
• 3 month program; 100 opportunities, 18 organizations
• Organizations received small grants to fund
• Each organization received a Hive toolbox of posters/stickers – so youth saw the branding
• Take pART (Corey Wittig, Digital Learning Librarian, The Labs @ Carnegie Library. wittigc@carnegielibrary.org)
• Arts & media-making around participatory politics & community engagement
• Partners within the network: Carnegie Library, HEAR ME (an initiative of Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab), Sprout Fund
• Youth Voice: records youth stories and share with the adults in the community who need to hear
• One example was recording stories of youth who grew up with parents in prison; their stories were shared with adults in a prisoner re-entry program

 Hive Global

• New sites in progress include Toronto and Mexico City
• There’s a need to share best practices and build together on a global level but also to be hyperlocal
• Global Maker Party: helps create global connections as people mingle and then share

Advice to other cities:

• (From San Francisco) Host a Hive Pop-up to assess need, commitment
• A pop-up is an event that brings multiple youth-serving organizations into one space, similar to a maker fair
• For participating organizations the event helps to find tensions, possibilities, tangible things to build upon, much better place to start a co-plan (more effective than a meeting)

•  Involve an independent operator who can balance interests between organizations
• Neutral
• Will help with moving forward and building value
• Look at current youth trajectories and design towards that; what’s working in your city?

-Leslie @ SR/Admin