Makin’ It
A space to flex creativity and technical expertise
Photo: Lisa Beth Anderson
With about a dozen communal studio workshops across campus—including the UMass Amherst Makerspace, open to the entire Five College Consortium, and the Olver Design Building Wood Shop, available only to select departments and programs—UMass offers its community everything from sewing to electronics to welding to 3D printing for use in research, design projects, and business.
In the UMass Amherst Makerspace alone, there are too many tools to count, such as laser cutters, embroidery machines, a vacuum chamber, and wood- and metal-working instruments of all kinds.
Among the objects created here: dinosaur chicken nugget pillows, an alpaca-fiber cleaning machine, an electric guitar, a quilted jacket, a 3D-printed foam dart blaster, acrylic chairs, rock climbing holds, and robotic hands.
