The Lawrence North Media Center has added another feature to their facility: a space where students can explore their creative mind using Lego blocks and robotic arms.
The center’s MakerSpace is set to be launched in the near future, according to media center specialist Tonya Fisher.
“MakerSpace is a space where students can come and experiment with hands-on application,” Fisher said. “You can build different things and program it. It’s a combination of building, engineering, coding [and] everything put together.”
The idea of opening this space came after seeing the lack of interest among LN students to explore the field of innovation using robots and computers.
“To have a space where students can come and experiment with that and see if it is something they like, it just opens up different avenues that people might not have thought before,” Fisher said.
MakerSpace itself lent its name from a high school starter collection that includes 14 different sets. The kit would include a robotic arm, roller coaster, bridge builder and other sets. It will also be accompanied with guiding books and manuals, which added the cost up to $1,000. The center received no special grant to purchase and set up the facility, meaning that all costs come from their annual budget.
The most intriguing feature of this facility is perhaps Lego Mindstorms, a set of specially-minted Lego kits that contain software and hardware to create user-customized robots.
“What it does is, you build whatever Lego robots and it has a machine in it which you can program to do what you say,” Fisher said.
The center is currently working with technology department to provide much-needed computers and other equipment for online videos and software.
The technology department will be working with the media center to provide computers and other technological support. Some of the kits require special softwares to work with, such as Legos and the robotic arms. The department’s student assistants would be responsible to run the day-to-day operations.
“Ideally it will need four work stations, but it is still very early,” technology supervisor Jacob Petrisin said.
The space would be accessible to teachers and instructors from related fields of study to give their students a first-hand approach on creative exploration. But no worries to students that did not take any technology-related class, since they could still come and try during their study hall period.
While Fisher agreed that some of the features might resemble facilities at McKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology, she emphasized a more relaxed approach from the center for this project.
“This won’t be a class per se,” Fisher said. “You don’t have to have had a class to do that. It’s more of a space for people to explore.”
The arrival of this facility is part of the center’s effort to make some differences with their image and functionality.
“The Media Center is more than just books,” Fisher said. “It’s a place for students to come, research and extends to actually do something.”
An edited version of this story appeared in the 3 February 2017 edition of LN North Star, the student newspaper of Lawrence North High School, Indiana.
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