“If You Can Dream It, You Can Make it”: The UMass Amherst Makerspace

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UMass Amherst is undeniably a huge campus, with event spaces, mini-restaurants, and study spots tucked away in niche areas. Even as a senior, I still find myself surprised by some of the cool spots that exist here. These hidden areas help make UMass special, but they are often unknown and, consequently, underappreciated.

With that said, have you heard about the UMass Amherst Makerspace? Your first thought might be, 'The maker what now?' and I wouldn’t blame you. The UMass Amherst Makerspace is one of those niche areas on campus. Whether you want to use the Makerspace for something related your Thesis, or just for a fun creative project — I hope to highlight it so everyone in the UMass community can check it out.

My Experience in the Makerspace

I first heard about the Makerspace well before it opened. During my first year, the space where the Makerspace is today was just an empty room under construction. I would pass by it on my way to one of my introductory political science classes, which was coincidentally located nearby.

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The Makerspace has many supplies, tools, and machines that students can use.

However, a couple of years later, I had another class in a nearby room, so one day, I decided to check if they had finished construction, and they had.

When I first walked into the space about a year ago, I immediately felt a wave of nostalgia. The many sewing machines and textile supplies reminded me of my grandmother teaching me how to sew. The electrical supplies and soldering machines reminded me of my brother tinkering with circuits in our old basement. The space itself, filled with supplies, tools, and machines, reminded me of my time in the Science Olympiad.

Overall, my first impressions were very positive, and I was amazed by the extent of the Makerspace’s capabilities. I was also glad to meet the friendly staff, as well as others working on their creations. If you’re still wondering what exactly the Makerspace is, the official mission statement is below:

“The mission of the UMass Amherst Makerspace is to serve as an interdisciplinary hub for makers on campus. The makerspace is open to students, faculty, and staff of UMass and the Five Colleges and provides training and access to equipment. The makerspace serves as a focal point for the maker community on campus, hosting events and workshops, facilitating connections between makers, and connecting groups with expertise and other maker resources on campus.”

Capabilities and Potential

I decided to revisit the Makerspace a couple of weeks ago to see what was new, if anything had changed, and to meet some of the staff again. There, I met Jacob Torres, a junior majoring in computer science who works at the Makerspace. He described the Makerspace in the following way:

“The Makerspace, it's in the name, you come here to make! If you have anything in mind really, we have something that can help you make it. There's an entire metal workshop, a wood workshop, we have things to help with embroidery, [and] a little bit of a music station. Really, anything [it is] that you have in mind, all the services are free and we provide the support you need to make whatever thing you have in mind.”

The staff at the Makerspace can help you learn how to use the equipment and tools.

Many of the tools in the Makerspace can be physically dangerous, as tools that cut, melt, or weld can obviously cause harm if used improperly. That’s why, in order to use certain tools or machines, one must complete a training program conducted by the Makerspace staff. Torres explained: “If it is a tool that can be dangerous in any way, we do have a supervisor or a staff member train the individual before they use it so that they get all of the safety measures needed and they're supervised the first time they use it to make sure that they're safe.”

Some of the machines and tools were completely new to me; some of them I had only seen in books or other media, such as the welding station, sophisticated woodshop, 3-D printer arrays, precision drills, and more.

What I found most impressive about the space, however, was the number of people who were there, working and creating. Regardless of what they were doing—whether it was sewing, crocheting, coding, or printing — it was clear that visitors were engaged in creating something they were passionate about.

Visitors work on all different projects at the Makerspace.

What is also great is that most materials in the space can be used free of charge, making the Makerspace accessible to the community at large. While the space may not have the exact materials one needs for their particular project, its inventory seems fairly expansive.

Before leaving, I wanted to see what Torres wanted the UMass community to know about the Makerspace. He emphasized:

“Take advantage of it. As I [hear] from people that work here, they get reminded that it exists and they're like, 'I haven't been getting my money's worth of going to college before this Makerspace,' [there are] so many opportunities to build and make something that you don't really get elsewhere.”

Visit the Makerspace

If you would like to learn more about the UMass Makerspace, visit their website; you can view their open hours and also schedule a time to complete training there. If you’re interested in visiting the space, it is located in the Agricultural Engineering Building North, which is adjacent to the Physical Plant and the University Without Walls administrative building, in Rooms 120 and 122. You can access directions to the Makerspace via their website.

I, for one, will definitely take advantage of the Makerspace before I graduate—perhaps to create something sentimental to remember my time here. I hope you will visit the Makerspace yourself and keep your eye out for other niche places around campus; there’s something for everyone.

UMass Amherst Makerspace is located in the Agricultural Engineering Building North Rooms 120 & 122