By Reagan Hunter | Reporter
On any given day in the garden level of Moody Memorial Library, Baylor students might be designing digital projects, experimenting with electronics, building something with shop tools, creating art or working with textiles.
While many students walk past the Moody Makerspace without realizing everything it has to offer, the Maker Club is working to change that.
Founded as a place for students to connect through creativity, the Maker Club gives Baylor students an opportunity to learn new skills, create projects and meet others with similar interests.
The club meets in the Makerspace, tucked into a nook of Moody Memorial Library. Students can gather there to work on projects, try new things and connect with other creative students.
For Grand Rapids, Michigan, senior Nora Haviland, who serves as co-president, the club is about much more than crafts and technology.
“I would describe Maker Club as an organization that comes together to learn from each other and to create,” Haviland said. “The main idea behind it is it’s meant to be an easy place to meet people, but to also learn how to do new skills in the crafting and making world.”
That sense of community carries over into the club’s events. Maker Club is designed to be flexible, with no attendance requirements or major time commitments. Club leaders are also working to keep events free, making it easy for students to stop by and participate.
“We really focus different events on different machines within the Makerspace, so that our members can get proficient on the machines and use them for their own crafts as well outside of the context of the club,” Haviland said.
The club’s events are anything but typical. In the past, students have made patchwork sweatshirts, learned hand-lettering and designed their own buttons. The club has also hosted a Halloween costume competition, book swaps and even an elaborate murder mystery experience.
If there is one event members still talk about, it is the Wild West murder mystery.
“Everyone was in costumes,” Waco senior Jackson Lucas, the club’s co-president and treasurer, said. “We had everyone in character. We hid different clues around the Makerspace and they had to discover clues and figure out who the murderer among them was.”
Lucas said he and Haviland spent nearly two weeks planning the event.
“Everything was made in the Makerspace,” Lucas said. “It was awesome.”
Events like these are part of the club’s goal of making the Makerspace a place where any student can feel welcome. Students do not need experience or a specific major to get involved. Whether someone wants to try something new or build on skills they already have, the club gives students a chance to learn, create and collaborate with others.
For Castroville senior Logan Fischer, club member, the club serves as a bridge between students who enjoy creating things and a campus resource many students do not realize exists.
“Oddly, not a lot of people know about it,” Fischer said of the Makerspace. “But when they find out about it, many people are like, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize we had this. This is so cool.'”
One recent Maker Club event introduced students to 3D printing through personalized keychains. Members learned the entire process from creating a design to operating the equipment.
“We had ones that were just people’s last name in cursive,” Haviland said. “We had one that was like a cute little barbell with their name on it.”
Yet members repeatedly say the club’s greatest creation is not the projects themselves. It is the community.
Haviland described the organization as both “a social club and a learning club.” She said the club is especially valuable for freshmen who may still be searching for connections on campus.
“We hope that people can meet each other and make community, make new friends, especially freshmen on campus who might not know anyone,” Haviland said.
Fischer said the creative environment also makes it easier for students to meet and connect with one another.
“It’s a very warm environment,” Fischer said. “You go here to create, and you can make friends along the way.”
The welcoming atmosphere is what makes the club stand out. Students do not have to be part of a certain major, have experience or know anyone before attending. They can simply show up, try something new and meet other students along the way.
Looking ahead, the club’s leaders hope to continue growing and getting more students involved. With fewer than 50 members, Haviland and Lucas hope to spread the word about the organization across campus and eventually get involved in outreach projects throughout the Waco community.
“We want people to come to the Makerspace and really use it for what it is,” Haviland said.
