NCSU Libraries Launches New Makerspace

As part of President Obama's National Week of Making , the NCSU Libraries is opening their Makerspace in D. H. Hill Jr. Library on Tuesday, June 16.

The Makerspace will offer a hands-on, do-it-yourself space where users are encouraged to experiment and learn new hardware and software skills. It will be equipped with 3D printers, a laser cutter, electronics prototyping tools, sewing machines, and general tools for making, and will be accessible to all NC State students, faculty, and staff.

While typically available for open use, faculty integrating maker tools into their curriculum will be able to reserve the Makerspace for classes, and the Libraries will use the space to hold workshops featuring particular tools and techniques.

The Libraries hopes the D. H. Hill Jr. Makerspace will serve as a hub for making on campus ”a place to expose the NC State community to making and its corresponding emerging literacies. To compliment their expertise with maker tools and techniques, the NCSU Libraries staff has expertise in disciplinary research, industry and market research, patent searching and filing, digital product development, data management, all of which can enrich a maker's approach. The Libraries is committed to bringing critical thinking to the maker experience and technology literacy.

With the D. H. Hill Jr. Makerspace, the Libraries have added yet another innovative learning space and equipped it with an extensive set of maker technologies: MakerBot and LulzBot 3D printers; Arduino, Galileo, and Raspberry Pi electronics prototyping platforms; Bernina sewing machines; an Epilog laser cutter, and an electronics workstation with Hakko soldering iron. The space also offers a "tinkering table" for drop-in users, featuring hands-on making tools like LittleBits, 3Doodlers, LEGOS, and MaKey MaKeys. These interactive experiences will help stir users' creative thinking and get them making on their first visit.