UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s return to primarily in-person instruction allows for increased access to on-campus teaching and learning resources. Maker Commons, located inside Pattee Library at University Park, is one such resource that has been utilized by nearly 3,000 students since 2018.
"We’re thrilled to have faculty and students back inside Maker Commons this fall,” said Bart Pursel, director of innovation for Teaching and Learning with Technology. “Our staff has worked hard to update the technology and services available at Maker Commons so that faculty and students get the support needed to fuel their innovation and creativity.”
Faculty and students will be able to explore the educational power of newly added physical prototyping technology, such as dye sublimation, e-textiles, consumer-level die cutters, robotics kits and sewing. Maker Commons also continues to offer access to 3D printing, 3D scanning, and microprocessing and circuitry.
For those who have an interest in digital prototyping and need additional experience before incorporating it into their coursework, the staff at Maker Commons hosts several workshops. New to the lineup this year are sessions in 3D modeling in virtual reality and Adobe Illustrator for Cricut. There also are workshops available for prototyping app development with Adobe XD, Arduino with Tinkercad, and 3D modeling with Tinkercad.
Maker Commons resources are available at every Penn State location throughout the commonwealth. There are many options to get in touch with the team and bring the educational power of making to your class.