New Makerspace ignites innovation and learning

In the lower level of Rogers House, Pickering College’s own Makerspace provides students the opportunity to design, build or fabricate almost anything they can imagine.

Previously, the Makerspace was located at the back of the art room; however, this limited access to it while art was being taught, and it was smaller and less functional.

When Dr. Lock became Head of School, she wanted to improve it. She identified another room in Rogers House and saw the potential to create a Makerspace there.

“She saw beyond the furniture that was in here and thought that this would be a great space,” says Gordon Chiu, Manager, Information Technology. Now, the room is outfitted with a laser cutter, a CNC router, and two new 3D printers, as well as a supply of hand tools and power tools.

Chiu says it is “a space where you can actually build things out of whatever medium you choose, whether that be wood, aluminum, even working with circuitry and things like that.”

The space itself was intentionally designed to support this. All the chairs fold so they can be moved out of the way and the tables are height adjustable. Everything, including the machines, is on castors to make it very flexible.

The first students to use the Makerspace were the FIRST Robotics Team, a co-curricular club that built its own robot in the space, beginning in January 2023. One of the first projects Pickering College students took on in the Makerspace was the FarmBot, a CNC farming project that combines agriculture and technology, two areas that are important to Pickering College.

FarmBot has been integrated into the curriculum at more than 500 educational institutions around the world and provides hands-on, engaging STEM education on topics such as farming, nutrition, soil science, biology, coding, and more.

The elements of Pickering College’s FarmBot were constructed in the Makerspace in the spring. The Green Team cut and assembled the farm bed to the FarmBot’s specifications, then assembled the robot and began the initial stages of setup, which included connecting it to the internet and starting to tinker with it to make it run smoothly across the track. Members of the Green Team and student robotics/ technology enthusiasts Thomas Bianco and Graydon Houle were instrumental in the construction process. Design, Technology and Innovation teacher Niki Mehta has been working with them this fall to complete the final setup.

“Our STEM students will program Farmbot to support optimal garden output. Green Team members are excited to share what we produce with the school and learn how to maximize plant growth by controlling watering schedules, soil fertility, and sunlight exposure,” says Joshua Armstrong, Director of Teaching and Learning.

Both the bot and the garden bed are now housed in the Student Lounge, where they have been undergoing testing and small adjustments to ensure everything is running as expected. Once FarmBot is fully complete, there are plans for students to monitor vegetable growth and share with data with our Green Team to study improvements for soil fertility and watering. The final goal is to be able to eat what we produce in this garden.

FarmBot is just one example of how the Makerspace can enhance STEM programming across different subject areas at Pickering College, and there are plans to ramp up usage of this space as the school year continues. Teachers were trained on the technology available at the beginning of September and exemplary units are being created to further demonstrate how the Makerspace can be integrated into the curriculum.

Chiu says there are many applications, whether it be in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, coding or even

in co-curricular programming. He is also hoping to see more students take advantage of the technology available on campus for their Global Leadership Program projects.

“If any students are planning on fabricating something novel, some type of solution, this would be the space for them to do it,” he says.

So far this school year, the space has been used regularly by the Grade 8 Design and Build course, which is taught by Mehta and takes place in the Makerspace. The Middle School VEX robotics team has also been meeting in the Makerspace during their cocurricular time.

As the year continues, Mehta will be experimenting in the Makerspace and collaborating with fellow faculty on projects they wish to pursue.