Since the Nebraska Innovation Studio opened in 2015, the makerspace has continued to restructure and expand its offerings, becoming one of the best facilities of its kind in the nation.
The transformation of NIS will be celebrated with a grand reopening on September 16th from 3:30pm to 7pm at the Studio, 2021 Transformation Drive, Suite 1500, Entrance B, Nebraska Innovation Campus.The festivities are free and open to the public and include refreshments, NIS tours, demonstrations and displays of finished art and products made by the studio.Registration is recommended but not required and can be done here.
When NIS opened six years ago, the large studio space had an extensive selection of tools – a laser cutter, two 3D printers, table saw, bandsaw, CNC router, workbench, hand tools, screen printing station, Vinyl cutter, flywheel and a kiln – but the floor plan leaves room for growth.
Since then, private donations have allowed for added functionality, including a woodworking shop, a metalworking shop, four more lasers, eight more 3D printers, an embroidery machine, and more.Soon, the studio will add a 44-inch Canon photo printer and additional photo software.
NIS Director David Martin said the grand reopening was an opportunity to thank donors and welcome the public back to the new and improved NIS.
“The six-year turnaround has been spectacular, and we want to show our early backers that the seeds they planted have blossomed,” Martin said.”Many haven’t been there since the pandemic started. We just opened our metal shop before the shutdown, when we had to close for five months.”
NIS workers remained busy during the shutdown, producing 33,000 face shields for medical workers on the front lines of the pandemic and leading a swarm of community volunteers to create single-use protective suits for first responders.
But since reopening in August 2020, NIS usage has increased month by month.Students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln make up about half of the membership, and the other half come from the Lincoln area’s programs of artists, hobbyists, entrepreneurs and veterans.
“The Nebraska Innovation Studio has become the maker community we envisioned during the planning phase,” said Shane Farritor, a professor of mechanical and materials engineering and a member of the Nebraska Innovation Campus Advisory Board who led the NIS construction effort.
The classroom brings a new element to the studio, allowing teachers and community groups to teach and learn in a hands-on way.
“Every semester, we have four or five classes,” Martin said.”This semester, we have two architecture classes, an emerging media arts class and a screen printing class.”
The studio and its staff also host and advise student groups, including the University’s Theme Park Design Group and World-Changing Engineering; and the Nebraska Big Red Satellite Project, a student mentoring of the Nebraska Aerospace Club of America Eighth to eleventh graders selected by NASA build a CubeSat to test solar power.
Post time: Feb-10-2022