The Teresa Amott Science Commons was under construction towards the end of the last academic year and finished at the beginning of fall term.

Knox College received a grant in 2018 for science equipment. With the grant, the library was preparing for some groundbreaking updates. The entirety of the budget was spent on equipment for the space.

Over the summer break, the space that was originally a traditional library with books and study spaces was transformed into an accessible workspace for the Knox community. It now offers everything from equipment and machinery to non-traditional classrooms.

The collaborative space now has study rooms that are available to book for meetings, appointments, and individual study sessions. Inside the glass wall is the makerspace hub, which provides access to and support with 3D printers, electronic workstations, desktop laser cutters, and a drafting table.

The Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (S.T.E.A.M.) Club at Knox has played a vital role in getting the college to invest in this equipment.

“S.T.E.A.M Club’s effort highlighted a need for a place like this,” President of S.T.E.A.M Club Christopher Andreou said.

The club struggled with visibility prior to the existence of the makerspace hub, and has since recruited many new members and increased engagement. The club now meets in this space from 4 to 6 pm on Thursdays, allowing students further access to and information on the equipment.

Students are encouraged to bring their projects and designs to this space to get started on working on them. This initiative connects them with the right equipment and resources, bridging the accessibility gap between the resources Knox has to offer and the community’s knowledge of them.

The makerspace network resource desk is where students can go to get access to the virtual reality headsets, 3D scanners, and  360° camera.

While there has been a lot of progress and development to the space, some equipment is still being set up. The digital embroidery machine and the sewing machines are something to look forward to in the space.

“We’ve grown pretty much out of the stone age. It’s wild to see all this progress and I’m glad to have been around to see all this growth,” Andreou said.

The metal shop and woodworking shop are currently being set up in the basement of the physics department. The CNC router and CNC plasma table have also been delivered and are being set up, as the department trains student employees on their usage.

The college plans to introduce developed training procedures and full courses for student employees by winter or spring term.

The current team of approximately 25 student workers are not fully trained yet, and are hired for different areas of the hub; some are for project development design, some are towards monitoring the space, and some are working on the science fabrication shops to get them into operational condition.

The Knox Center for Teaching and Learning holds their tutoring appointments in this space, as well as Red Room Tutoring on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 7-9 pm.

The hub has also been receiving requests from faculty and staff for research projects and teaching aids, and is starting to gain popularity amongst the students.

“The only limit is your creativity, you don’t need any experience. I didn’t come here with any experience and have since then learned,” Andreou said.

Makerspace and Science Technician Alex Fluegel has been seeing this project through since its launch.

“The space will continue developing, it’s going to take a while for everything to get to where everything is perfect and optimized. We encourage people to come in and just be patient as we keep developing the space, and share feedback as we go,” Fluegel said.

Planning and executing the new makerspace was a long and time consuming process.

“This is a time for Knox, as a whole community, students, faculty and staff, to share their input, so that we can shape it to what is needed. The space still has potential to develop and grow,” Fluegel said.