The process was slow and deliberate. About once a week I would send out an email to all of our volunteers indicating which day(s) I would be in Ashland to work on our space.
From there, without fail, two to five volunteers would show up to work. With food on hand (or on order) and music in the background, we set to reinventing a space that had been underutilized for many years.
Before
After
Phase 1: Clean out the old
This required emptying dozens of cabinets and drawers, sorting through what we wanted to keep and getting rid of old student projects, and broken items collected years before (some even transferred from one high school to another.)Phase 2: Consolidate what we kept
Early in the summer we wanted to know what we had so we didn't order duplicates of tools on hand. Cleaning and organizing allowed us to consolidate our existing supplies and start putting together orders. Thanks to our generous grants, we were eager to order new tools, supplies, and consumables. We also had many donations to sort through. Take an old lego tray here, turn it into a hardware tray there. Empty out a toolbox of rusty old parts here, repurpose it to organize small useful parts there.
Phase 3: Order and Organize
Once we knew what we had, we started turning our wish lists into orders, and orders turned into real live new materials. We started with some big items we knew we wanted, but we also wanted to be thoughtful about how far our money would go, so we spent wisely.We also started putting everything into a home. One cabinet for Legos, one for PVC pipes, one for electronics, and so on. One of our proudest achievements was getting our tool shed organized and full of amazing tools. From hammers to clamps to power drills, we felt a sense of order coming into our summer of nonstop work.
Assembling a mobile cabinet Organizing electronic components
Organized PVC Building storage shelves Organized Legos
Phase 4: Play as we go
It's one thing to get new tools for the AIC, it is another to know what to do with them. From the time the earliest tools started showing up, it was important that our volunteers got hands on and started seeing how amazing the most simple of machines could be. The Proxxon Thermocut, a Wen 12" Drill, a Flash Forge 3D printer and the DeWalt Scroll Saw were just a few of the early arrivers that motivated students to want to come in and finish getting the space setup.
Final thoughts
As summer was winding down, we needed a final push to get things ready for the opening of school. Students showed up almost everyday our last week before school started. We worked endlessly building shelving and cabinets, mounting a TV, and finishing off the final desks for our adjacent computer lab.We could not be more proud of our volunteers and our summer never to be forgotten. The Makerspace will never be finished. It is in constant flux and growth. We were thrilled to have it ready to go by day one of school, knowing that we as individuals and as a team have a lifetime of learning ahead of us to bring our vision to life.
