Library and Student Innovation Center: Makerspace!

The College of Engineering and Applied Science together with the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education, and the University of Wyoming Libraries have developed a Library/Student Innovation Center (CSIC/SIC) makerspace, in order to spark student innovation, creativity, and design skills. In May 2012, Governor Mead, the State legislature, and the Wyoming Governor’s Energy, Engineering, and STEM Integration Taskforce articulated a vision to propel the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) and the University of Wyoming to the realms of “excellence in instruction, research, and service.” Part of this initiative included an active learning “makerspace” in the new Engineering Education and Research Building (EERB). Makerspaces employ technology along with hands-on education to spark student innovation, creativity, design, and entrepreneurship. The UW Libraries have graciously provided 2500 square feet of space to develop a prototype Library Innovation Center (LIC) during the Fall 2016 semester. Lessons learned and equipment purchased will form the basis of the Student Innovation Center (SIC) planned for the EERB. Groundbreaking for the EERB was October 7, 2016 with a scheduled completion of Spring 2019. The purpose of the LIC/SIC is to provide experiential learning space for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) students. The LIC/SIC provides a location for students to explore ideas, complete class projects, or pursue an entrepreneurial innovation. Also, the space is available to conduct classes and workshops. The space is coordinated and managed by an onsite specialist. The LIC/SIC planning team consists of an interdisciplinary group of faculty members and students with a common interest: hands-on, innovative learning. In this paper, we provide detailed information about developing a makerspace, including equipment selection, staffing, funding, day-to-day operations, and lessons learned. This paper serves as a useful guide for other institutions that are considering setting up a makerspace. Overview Over the last several years, an interdisciplinary team has stood up a makerspace within the UW Library. The team has gathered considerable information and lessons learned about developing a makerspace – information that the team believes will be valuable to other institutions pursuing this same goal. In this paper, we answer the following questions: what did we do? Why did we do it? What was our motivation? What are our goals? What is the current status of the project? Where are we heading? Background In May 2012, Governor Mead, the State legislature, and the Wyoming Governor’s Energy, Engineering, and STEM Integration Taskforce articulated a vision to propel the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) and the University of Wyoming to the realms of “excellence in instruction, research, and service.” Part of this initiative included an active learning “makerspace” in the new Engineering Education and Research Building (EERB). One of the primary objectives of the initiative was to develop a location for exploration of creative ideas within the EERB. A makerspace provides a location for students to explore ideas, complete class projects, or pursue an entrepreneurial innovation. As a general concept, university makerspaces present both formal and informal learning opportunities to students. From an educational perspective, makerspaces espouse constructivism and constructionism as learning philosophies, incorporating collaborative and problem-based activities. Essentially, the expertise and tools provided in makerspace facilities foster a hands-on approach to learning based upon individual interests, building upon intrinsic motivation (Kurti, Kurti, & Fleming, 2014) [1]. Whether a student wants to learn a new skill to improve classroom performance or participate just because it seems interesting, they can work within a makerspace to identify these opportunities. In some cases, a facility might offer regular workshops on a topic. In others, there might be a one-time event that showcases a particular expertise. The open access, drop-in approach to facility operation encourages visitors to visit at any time to tinker or explore. There’s also the notion of university-based makerspaces serving curricular needs by providing tools and resources necessary for completing class projects. An example here might be a seminar on problem-solving and design that challenges student teams to identify a problem, research existing solutions, and propose a new solution through designing, prototyping, and testing. In some cases, these experiences create entrepreneurial opportunities. In one case, a student-team used a makerspace to design a lighted-seat prototype of a child’s toilet with a Bluetooth-enabled application to help parents potty-train their toddlers. These types of projects can be entered into innovation competitions or used as the foundations for other business opportunities. With construction plans underway for the new EERB, attention quickly focused on establishing a student innovation center (SIC) for student use that would occupy much of the second floor. The groundbreaking for this building, however, was still more than a year out, with an anticipated opening in Fall 2019. The maker movement had already come to campus with the opening of the COE Makers facility, established within the College of Education in Fall 2014, and the UW 3-D ArtScience and STEM Maker Laboratory, established in the Department of Art and Art History in Fall 2015. To help maintain this momentum, the SIC planning committee agreed that an intermediate and more centrally located facility might assist with broader campus goals, build anticipation for the new facility, and launch a network of makerspaces on campus to maximize impact and use. Committee meeting discussions took into consideration guidance and advice learned from opening the other spaces, including an absolute need for a facility to be easily accessible and visible to students. When innovation and maker labs are not directly in the flow of typical student traffic, they become destinations that require forethought and planning rather than open-access, inviting spaces. Additionally, windows looking into a facility provide valuable free marketing to advertise the kinds of activities and projects that happen in the space, generating curiosity and conversation. These considerations led the committee to look toward buildings on campus that featured fewer administrative offices and more spaces oriented toward student services. Early conversations with University Libraries revealed a desire to collaborate and opened up potential for available space. This collaboration presented an opportunity to begin scouting for optimal locations within the main library. Ultimately, a large mixed-use study area emerged as the most suitable space to convert into an innovation center. With representatives from the library now on the committee, plans commenced with the purchase of modular walls to enclose the area and the design of a layout for new equipment and furniture [2]. During the preliminary planning stages, faculty within the CEAS were surveyed to find out how an innovation facility could fit with their current practices and future curricular plans. This survey helped inform later data-gathering efforts as the committee prepared proposals to seek internal and external funding for both the SIC and the intermediate library innovation center (LIC). In terms of existing practices that could benefit from or be expanded by a makerspace, CEAS faculty highlighted activities including fabrication, prototyping, machining, programming, and design related to software, interfaces, virtual reality, and production. Responses about fabrication focused on circuit boards and related assemblies, fluid dynamics, concrete beam construction, concrete batching and testing, and structural member testing. Future curricular goals indicated a desire to expand more into 3D printing models, parts, and entire assemblies with particular emphasis on a variety of materials. Other plans selected include robotics experiments, micron-scale fabrication, and rapid prototyping. When asked about how such a facility might be used outside of formal curricula, CEAS faculty noted that the innovation centers could assist during recruiting tours, attracting students, parents, and partners. Additionally, the spaces should accommodate projects and competitions such as the Chemical Car Competition, DOE wind energy, ASCE Concrete Canoe, ASCE Steel Bridge, robotics competitions, design competitions, NASA design competition(s), NAE Engineering 3U, AIChE vaccine design competition, DUI Grand Interaction Challenge, and hack-a-thons. As construction on the LIC began, the decision to locate the facility in a central, visible location helped to generate interest in the facility. Some students were already familiar with these kinds of centers because of two existing makerspaces on campus, and their word-of-mouth exchanges helped to generate excitement. Students began contacting planning committee members with questions regarding new student organizations such as a blacksmithing club and a 3D design and prototyping club. Additionally, faculty members began to inquire about how to teach an entire course or schedule individual classes in the library space. Hundreds of university-based makerspaces exist around the United States, offering a variety of facility experiences. In 2015, a review of top-ranked universities found that 40 had at least one makerspace, with the vast majority indicating that the facility was housed in a department other than Engineering and/or was open to the broader campus [3]. It is interesting to note that three of the universities hosting makerspaces listed more than one facility, indicating different emphases or contextual applications for the facility equipment. Also the review noted that th