Inside a small room in the 3800 Applied Technology building MakerSpace club members can be found working on workshops that involve knowledge in several fields.
On Friday April 22, MakerSpace club members held workshops focusing on the Fundamentals of Arduino, Circuits and Programming Logic, Intro to 3D Printing, Beginning Crochet, Screen Printing, Intro to Laser Cutting and Basic Paper Modeling.
“We are doing workshops so students can gain the skills they need to go out in the real world and be useful in the workforce,” MakerSpace club member Natalie Mendoza said.
Paul Macander, MakerSpace club co-president, said the workshops were meant to bring in students with specific interests and to also expose them to other ideas in the workshops.
“The MakerSpace is a place that should be open to any sort of idea whether it’s crafting, technology, or art design,” Macander said. “It’s all about that collaboration.”
There was no expectation of how many students would attend, however, the amount of people that participated proved to the MakerSpace club that they needed a larger location to work in and hold their workshops.
“I mean our space is small but we can accommodate,” Mendoza said. “Getting space was bit of an an issue but we resolved it. It’s hard to find space on campus that can accommodate the equipment and stuff we want.”
Originally, they hoped to have hosted the workshop in a larger building, such as the Old Library, but were unable to get the space.
“The students are interested and the ASO is supportive,” Macander said. “The amount of students that showed up in the little space we have is not conducive. It doesn’t work well together. ”
Students and new club members at the event had to wait outside the room until there was space for them to go in and participate.
Mechanical engineering major Matthew McIntyre discussed and demonstrated how the 3D printer works.
Intro to Laser Cutting was led by club member Emilio Nicolas, as he cut names of students and drawings of Sailor Moon characters. Co-president Joel Simonoff was in charge of the Fundamentals of Arduino, Circuits and Programming Logic workshop.
“Most universities have very elaborate MakerSpaces and it’s interesting because when you see these makerSpaces it’s part of the curriculum,” Macander said. “You have to be prepared to enter at that level knowing that these other students have already had the experience. So having a MakerSpace on campus here is critical.”
To prepare for MakerSpace Week the MakerSpace club had asked for funding from the ASO, which was approved for $1800 last semester.
They also underwent training on how to run these workshops along with learning how to operate the machinery by attending Hexlab during winter break.
Architecture major Xenia Bran attended the workshop and enjoyed learning what MakerSpace had to offer.
“They’ve been making an effort for the last year and a half to have a functioning MakerSpace here on campus,” Bran said. “They’re trying to unite all different sorts of majors to come into a room and let their creative side out.”
The event itself was organized by members and was a way for the MakerSpace club to dip their toes into the water.
“The most exciting thing is seeing all these guys excited about something, seeing everybody sharing information and everybody smiling and talking,” Macander said. “That to me is the beauty of it.”