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WWU’s Makerspace opens doors to all majors, fueling creativity across campus

Originally designed for engineering students, Western’s Makerspace now attracts a majority of non-majors, creating a campus hub where anyone can explore, experiment and bring ideas to life

by Allie Van Parys

University Communications intern

Lily Costello solders pieces together for her DIY gaming console at the WWU Makerspace. Photo by Allie Van Parys.

WWU’s Makespace is a working lab where students can use equipment and tools to bring creative ideas to life. It is located in Ross Engineering Building room 251, but half of the students who use the Makerspace are not Engineering and Design majors, despite the resource originally being made to supplement early lab requirements from the department.

Rook Oliver, left, Sirus Atwood and Callam Tillsley work on projects at a large table in the Makerspace. Photo by Allie Van Parys.

“We love that, because it brings different projects, energy and perspectives to the building,” said Jill Davishahl, associate faculty and director of first-year programs in the Engineering and Design department. “It also exposes people to our majors that otherwise wouldn’t ever know about them.”

The Makerspace houses the clangs and whirrs of many machines offered for student use. Expansive windows look over the industrial engineering labs on the wall opposite the door. Students using the Makerspace can peer into the labs to see what other people are creating. 3D printers, sewing machines, laser cutters, soldering irons and vinyl cutters are the major tools which each require a combination of online and in-person training to use. Sticker printers, crickets used to cut out stickers, button presses, grommet presses, heat presses for vinyl, laptops with access to Adobe tools and sanding kits are also offered, and don’t require training.

Students who wish to use sewing machines at the Makerspace have to complete a “badge” by making this mug coaster. Photo by Allie Van Parys.

To use certain machines, students must enroll in the Makerspace Canvas page and complete “badges,” which are simple ways to show what is learned outside the typical classroom setting. Digital badges are earned to display what parts of the Makerspace training are completed, explained Davishahl.

Lily Costello, a first year, has been using the Makerspace’s materials to sew and to solder her own gaming console. Soldering connects metal components together with a filler metal so electrical currents can run through it, like sewing two pieces of fabric together. Costello uses the Makerspace to explore her interests in electrical engineering without needing to commit to any major.

Lily Costello, a first-year at Western, smiles at the camera while setting out supplies. Photo by Allie Van Parys.

To create a more inclusive environment, the Makerspace typically hires students to staff the space from all majors. Currently, all student employees with the Makerspace are in the Engineering and Design department, but that is unusual, Davishahl said.

A student project, an engraved octopus on a water bottle, is made possible in the Makerspace with a laser cutter. Photo by Allie Van Parys.

“This space tends to attract students from underrepresented groups, especially gender minorities, in a way that a lot of traditional engineering labs don’t,” Davishahl said. “We’ve been very intentional about how we designed the space to make that happen, and I think it shows.”

Davishahl specializes in research equity and belonging in engineering and imagines a world where people from diverse backgrounds can design and create a new reality. Sewing, the most challenging badge to earn by students, typically attracts more women than men. Despite this, sewing is the most popular activity in the Makerspace.

The Makerspace’s mascot, the Makersnake, wraps around a pipe on the ceiling. The Makersnake can be followed on Instagram @TheMakersnake. Photo by Allie Van Parys.

The program offers six hobby-grade and one industrial-grade sewing machine, creating endless opportunities for students. Xander Sims, a student employee at the Makerspace and a manufacturing engineering major, has seen students sew everything from electronics using conductive thread to full cosplay costumes.

Sirus Atwood, a second-year history major looking to go into secondary education, comes in five days a week to 3D print Warhammer figurines, a tabletop game involving strategic model building and combat. Some models he’s made are the size of “infant toddlers,” standing at two feet tall.

A campus usage trend graph shows how many engineering and design majors use the Makerspace compared to how many non-majors use it. Graph by Jill Davishahl.

Western’s Makerspace strives to uplift these student voices, and letting more students know about the space is Davishahl’s current goal. In June, the Makerspace will debut its Makermobile, a vehicle that is being converted by senior engineering students to make creative projects mobile. One of the planned Makermobile projects will pair a beach cleanup with hands-on making. Students will collect plastic and glass trash from the beach, then process the materials on site to create things like beads and jewelry.

The Makerspace also has a mascot, the Makersnake, that wraps around a pipe on the ceiling. The Makersnake can be followed on Instagram @TheMakersnake and the Makerspace can be followed @WWU_Makerspace for information and updates. 

Allie Van Parys is an intern with the Office of University Communications. She is majoring in Journalism-Public Relations and minoring in English and Communication Studies.