When the White House shared plans to host a first-ever Maker Faire and national “Day of Making,” Case Western Reserve couldn’t wait to take part.
After all, this is the university whose graduates invented the intermittent windshield wiper, the Nike Air Sole and carbon fiber. It’s also the place where students have created an emission-free electrical bike and an award-winning shower meter that tracks water and energy use.
So, as part of the administration’s celebration of institutions and individuals who bring ideas to life, Case Western Reserve will host an in-person “Maker Hangout” from 1 to 4 p.m. tomorrow in Room 356 of Nord Hall. Open to the public, the hangout will feature conversations about local initiatives to support making, and also allow makers to share their ideas and inventions.
The event also will include tours of thinkbox 1.0, a space where students, staff, faculty and the public can access cutting-edge equipment to build prototypes or simply tinker.
Immediately following, at 4 p.m., Case Western Reserve will co-host an online Google Hangout at engineering.case.edu/neomakers. The online event will connect individuals and organizations across the region, including the Great Lakes Science Center, Ingenuity Cleveland, Lorain County Community College and Cleveland Public Library.
The hangout will give visitors the opportunity to learn more about how to make use of invention and innovation resources in Northeast Ohio and hear from fellow inventors. Community members are welcome to stay at Case Western Reserve after the open house to participate in the hangout, or connect online at engineering.case.edu/neomakers. Questions about making to be addressed during the Hangout can be sent in advance or during the event to neomakers@case.edu or posted on Twitter at #neomakers.
Learn more about the National Maker Faire, the Northeast Ohio maker open houses and the Google Hangout at engineering.case.edu/neomakers.
The maker movement supports a number of priorities shared by CWRU: hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. The movement is also deeply rooted in manufacturing—a traditional economic base in Northeast Ohio, where area universities, businesses and other organizations are developing new additive manufacturing technologies.
Case Western Reserve, with a long history of invention, made a substantial commitment to the maker movement in 2012 with the opening of thinkbox, a high-tech innovation center accessible to the entire campus community and beyond.
The center drew more than 50,000 visits in the last 18 months; fundraising continues for the fully realized version of the initiative, a seven-story space that will include more and larger equipment, as well as spaces for inventors, entrepreneurs and experienced advisers can gather.