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|  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n|  |  |  |  | |  |\n|  |  |  |  |  |  |\n\nSPRING 2020  \nCase Study: Maker Space Management by Minions  \nDUSTYN ROBERTS University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA  \nAND  \nJENNI BUCKLEY University of Delaware Newark, DE  \nABSTRACT  \nThe Design Studio is an academic makerspace, housed in the Mechanical Engineering Department at University of Delaware, that was co-developed through a multi-year, grassroots effort by the department and its undergraduate study body. It originated in 2012 in a small, under-utilized study room and evolved in stages into its present form as a 5,500 square foot, all-access makerspace, with designated areas for digital manufacture, electronics, carpentry, metal working, wet lab, and mechanical testing. The bulk of the expansions, room renovations, and major equipment purchases were completed on a modest budget ($160k total), drawn primarily from alumni donations and departmental funds. Undergraduate students (the Minions) have been integral to the design, construction, maintenance, and daily operation of the Design Studio since its inception in 2012 to the present. The Minions have grown into a small army of undergraduate assistants, and they rather independently manage safety, inventory, and day-to-day operations under the supervision of two faculty co-directors. The Design Studio is now utilized by nearly 80% of the core courses within the department for labs, design projects, and demos. The space is also the de facto study and collaboration space for the majority of our undergraduate population as well as the home of many of our student organizations. The Design Studio itself is a student-centered design project, and as such, it is inherently a work-in-progress. Therefore, the purpose of this case study is not to prescribe our particular pathway for creating and maintaining an academic makerspace. Rather, we present this case study in the hopes that other institutions with similar design constraints – whether they be space, funding, or staffing – actively engage their own student body (Minions) in creating a makerspace that works in their community.  \nKey words: Design Studio, Mechanical Engineering, Student Centered  \nSPRING 2020 1  \nADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION  \nCase Study: Maker Space Management by Minions  \nINTRODUCTION  \nAcademic makerspaces, design centers, innovation institutes, and creativity labs of different kinds are becoming popular hubs of activity on many campuses, particularly within engineering colleges and departments. Some of these centers, such as Stanford’s d-school [1] and Penn State’s Learning Factory [2]–[4], have existed for over a decade. Others, such as Yale’s Engineering Design Center [5] and Georgia Tech’s Invention Studio [6], are relatively recent developments. These spaces generally offer a physical location with fabrication resources and support for students to learn and work in a hands-on environment. However, they are more than just fabrication facilities because a key element of a makerspace is the community itself. In other words, the people matter just as much as (or more so than) the machines. A participatory culture that encourages informal interactions between the communities that the makerspace serves is what distinguishes it from a facility used only for fabrication.  \nThe Design Studio is a unique academic makerspace in the University of Delaware Department of Mechanical Engineering that was designed, built, and maintained as a partnership between the undergraduate student body and the faculty [7],[8] . The space was created and is maintained under tight budgetary, staffing, and space constraints, all of which make student-faculty collaboration essential. Our experience is that a team of engaged students (the Minions [9]) are not merely the end-users of an academic makerspace, they are the creators and co-owners of it. Our experience is that a participatory culture ","cbCainZS6ndkHdfd","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCainZS6ndkHdfd","pdf",413620,11,"English","# Introduction\n# Evolution of the Design Studio","[{\"question\":\"How did the Design Studio begin in 2012, and what was its original purpose?\",\"answer\":\"It began as a pilot project to convert a small, under-utilized senior-year study lounge into a light-duty fabrication area for student design projects.\"},{\"question\":\"What factors helped the Design Studio expand while operating under tight constraints?\",\"answer\":\"Staged expansion was supported by available adjacent space, and renovations focused on modular furniture and fixtures to enable efficient relocation if needed.\"},{\"question\":\"What role do undergraduate students (the Minions) play in the makerspace?\",\"answer\":\"They are integral from inception onward—participating in design, construction, maintenance, and daily operations, and independently managing safety and inventory under faculty co-directors.\"}]","Case Study: Maker Space Management by Minions | PDF",1792066040,28]