- NKYMakerspace students are helping organize the Maker Expo by building kits, setting up spaces, and creating projects for display.
- The program gives students hands-on experience in 3D printing, design and collaboration while fostering creativity and soft skills.
- The free Maker Expo features competitions, performances and interactive STEAM activities for the community.
Students at the Ignite Institute’s NKYMakerspace are preparing to share their creativity with the broader community through the annual Maker Expo.
Lauren Mays, a senior at the Ignite Institute, describes herself as an artistic person. Through her internship with NKYMakerspace, her creativity flourished, she said.
“I’m an artistic person. I like to paint and draw and do all that stuff,” Mays said. “Coming in here and seeing all the supplies and materials that I could, I just kind of let my freedom go.”
The NKYMakerspace is a regional program that brings together students from Boone and Kenton County Schools and offers tools and guidance for activities such as 3D printing, design, crafting and engineering projects. By participating in the program, students gain access to specialized field trips, school programs and outreach opportunities to connect with younger students.
The Ignite Institute, a STEAM school—focused on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics—and jointly funded by the Boone and Kenton County School Districts, is hosting its annual Maker Expo at its campus in the CirclePort office park in Erlanger.
Emily Himonidis, the director of the NKYMakerspace program, told LINK nky that the program provides students an unburdened outlet to express their creativity, free from the constraints of other obligations.
“I feel like the arts is a really cool place that students are able to come, where they’re able to let their guard down a little bit more and find that safe space and ways to express themselves with less fear,” she said.
NKYMakerspace senior and 3D printing guru Blake Atkins highlighted the program’s significance beyond art, noting that it also helps develop soft skills like teamwork and communication.
“It’s not only just like the artistry skills and everything, but it’s the actual workflow skills as well – like communication, collaboration,” he said.
Upon entering the Makerspace, you are greeted by a variety of artistic projects displayed around the room. Paper mache sculptures hang from the ceiling, while workbenches are littered with creative materials and projects in progress.
With the annual Maker Expo approaching on Saturday, March 21, several student participants in the NKYMakerspace program are preparing for the big day by helping set up event materials and space, contributing toward creating projects and displays to be featured at the expo, or by directly participating in several of the expo’s competitions. Mays said she and her colleagues had already helped assemble dozens of hospitality bags and activity kits for the expo.
“All of us here within the Makerspace helped set that up and help them create their projects and stuff, and they are very proud of those projects,” Mays said. “This year, we are creating a space to display them and show off their hard work. I’m really proud of them because we get to show that off to the public for them.”
The Maker Expo is a community event centered on sharing the creative expression of NKYMakerspace interns, as well as that of several local artisans, with the general public. Whether it’s through interactive activities such as printmaking or pixel art, the event will showcase a broad range of works.
The free event offers competitions like Lego building and 3D printing challenges, while also bringing attendees into contact with artisans and showcasing summer programs. It also features a Performance Expo with music, theater, puppetry and screenings of student-produced films, as well as performances by groups such as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.
Himonidis said the event was a great way to introduce young students to various new activities, like robotics engineering or conducting science experiments.
“It’s just a no-brainer,” she said. “Why would you not come out to a free event – bring your kids and expose them to STEAM learning and the importance of it?”
Mays mentioned that if she were a young student at the expo, witnessing the enthusiastic involvement of older students would motivate her to explore the new avenues of learning.
“I think I would be excited,” she said. “If I were to be younger and going through all this, especially getting to see a bunch of older kids and a bunch of older people doing this and being like, ‘I can do that in the future.’”