LVC Visioneers Bring Innovation to Campus Through MakerSpace

Through one of the College’s newest clubs, the LVC Visioneers Club, Valley students are bringing innovation to LVC with a new MakerSpace.

A “MakerSpace,” according to Kelly Miller, director of educational technology at the College, is an important space for creativity, allowing students a unique platform for self-expression.

“Makerspaces are places where creative people can work individually or together on passion projects using tools and technology that they might otherwise not have easy access to,” Miller said. “For a few years, I’ve wanted to start a MakerSpace and now the students in the club have taken it on themselves to create their own name, branding, and rules, and have taught themselves how to use the equipment.”

This year, the Visioneers have achieved official club status at the College, offering access to 3D printers, virtual reality equipment, and other tech to students of all majors. Club members instruct them on how to use these devices and allow students to create individual projects for themselves and the community.

Co-president and art major Candy Heishman ’17 sees the LVC Visioneers MakerSpace as a place to help mold creative minds, regardless of interests or major.

“The club does a great job of combining art and technology and enabling students to be creative,” she said.

It is often a preconceived notion that the Visioneers, as an innovation club, are exclusive to art and digital communication majors, especially since they work with the Information Technology Department, who provides access to a lot of advanced equipment. But that is not the case.

“We have members from all different majors, so it’s a nice break from their normal college life to come to a space and just create, whether it is a hobby for them or something they would like to turn into a career,” Miller said.

The club has demonstrated their technology through campus events and are working with some departments, including the Music and Biology departments, to create objects that could change how students learn at LVC.

The Biology Department, for instance, recruited the club to use a 3-D printer to create a portable microscope that could be clipped to a smartphone for field use.

The goal of the LVC Visioneers is to expand and create a permanent space at the College so that they can use the tools they have more frequently and make LVC an innovative community.

 

 

-Maria Scacchitti, ’18, Communications Intern