2025 Olin College Summer Intensive: Empowering your Makerspace through Curriculum and Culture

Many engineering schools have established one or more student-centered facilities, commonly called makerspaces, that allow students to move their ideas to reality through hands-on experiences.

Makerspaces provide students with instruction, supervision, and safe access to a wide variety of making devices.

During this week-long program participants will spend some time in the Olin Shop with the students who run it, where they will learn about what it’s like to be part of a student-led makerspace and how to build a maker community. A pedagogical view will be taken to provide steps through the planning, design, and teaching aspects of a makerspace. Groups will be formed to rotate amongst equipment categories (e.g., 3d printing, laser cutting-engraving, wood working, metal machining, etc.) to learn the capabilities, pros versus cons, common applications, and user access. Training in equipment commonly found in academic makerspaces, such as laser cutters and 3D printers will be provided.

In addition, we will cover fundamental principles of successful makerspaces such as:

• Understanding the general types and their pros/cons
• The importance of culture and community
• Assessing impact/justification
• Staffing and training models
• Creating effective safety systems while optimizing access while minimizing boundaries
• Understanding safety and complementary policy, insurance, legal and regulatory issues
• Q&A session open to audience inquiries on applying the presented information to curriculum

Participants will have the opportunity to interact with Olin faculty, staff, and students who can provide subject matter expertise, feedback on prototypes, and insights drawn from their own experiences.

Who is it designed for?

The Summer Intensive program is designed for new and experienced faculty members and professional staff of educational institutions who are committed to making a positive impact in their respective fabrication and makerspaces through innovative and effective approaches to teaching and learning. Students and recent graduates are also welcome to participate in the program. K-12 educators are also encouraged to participate. Ask if you are interested in Massachusetts DESE Professional Development credit.

Cost and Requirements

The program fee for an individual is US$3,000. Groups from a single institution may participate as a team. All participants should plan to attend in person; remote participation will be permitted only in exceptional circumstances. If possible, participants should establish the broad scope of their makerspace goals before arriving on campus in order to make the most effective use of their time at Olin.

The fee includes 4 days of engagement on Olin’s campus in Needham, MA (USA), as well as lunch every day and an optional day of tours of local makerspaces. All other costs, including transportation and lodging, are the responsibility of participants or their institutions.

Tentative Schedule