What is a makerspace and why is it popping up on campus?

What is a makerspace and why is it popping up on campus?

We are crossing all fingers for good weather next week. But even if it's not, don't let that stop you getting out to visit our pop-up maker space.  It will be parked out at the South Front of the main building (near the flagpole) for the duration of Global Entrepreneurship Week (16th to 22nd November), welcoming staff and students in from the blustery weather, to watch live demos, learn new skills and generally have a play around. Maker-spaces are a hub for people who want to try out something new, share expertise and learning from each other.  Last year, a group of interested students went out to visit Maklab in town and came back full of ideas for how a space like this could help generate new ideas and collaborations.  They weren't all engineers either, they could see possibilities for archeologists, software engineers who wanted to learn about hardware, theatre students and people who wanted to make a widget for their lab or fieldwork.  This year, Maklab are coming to us.

Everyone is welcome to come along to the makerspace and see what it's all about. It doesn't matter if you haven't the faintest idea what some of these bits of kit are (CNC miller? Filabot?) the friendly folks from maklab are there to help.

Learning (or doing a PhD) is always a messy process, full of blind alleys. Sometimes you get stuff wrong. The makerspace is about giving everyone chance to experiment, take a few risks or think in a different sort of way about how to approach problems, through trying stuff out, iterating and prototyping. Come and have a play!

Tweet us a picture to show us what you make #uofgmakeithappen #GEW2015

Panto Science: fun for everyone!

Panto Science: fun for everyone!

Water Innovation Lab Europe

Water Innovation Lab Europe