by Fay Shaw, Postdoctoral Scholar and Amy Fleischer, Curator of Collaborations from the Occupational Therapy Department

In Spring 2016, the CEEO joined together with Occupational Therapy (OT) and Human Factors (HF) to pilot a new location for Jumbo’s Maker Studio, the HF lab in the new Collaborative Learning and Innovation Complex (CLIC) at 574 Boston Ave. One of the challenges for the fall location of Jumbo’s Maker Studio at 200 Boston Ave was the distance from main campus. In this pilot we aimed to reach students closer to the main campus while collaborating with OT and HF.

CLIC co-locates OT and engineering departments under one roof, which enhances the collaborative relationship between these two departments. Accordingly, during the first semester in the new building (Fall 2015), the HF lab was used for the co-listed ENP and OT Assistive Technology elective (OTS105). In this popular course, students worked in teams to design and fabricate low-tech assistive devices for actual people with disabilities. It became clear that the users of the HF lab and the Maker Network had similar goals, such as increasing hands-on, project-based learning among diverse students, and the pilot was launched in spring. We moved 3D printers and soldering irons to CLIC and also acquired new tools and materials. By the end of the pilot, we had obtained two more 3D printers and the space became very popular for 3D printing final projects.

All spring, the Maker Studio was open to Tufts students, staff, and faculty. Early in the semester, the Maker Network hosted the Weekend of Making, which attracted over 150 students over the course of two days. Workshops on Saturday January 30th were held at 574 Boston Ave; workshops on Sunday January 31st were held at the Crafts Center. The Maker Network includes Tufts Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Crafts Center, Tufts Robotics Club, Tufts Entrepreneurs Society and Tufts MAKE. Therefore, a diverse mix of individuals participated in 18 workshops on skills such as soldering, 3D modeling, machine knitting, Internet of Things, and sewing circuits.

Another popular series in the Maker Studio was Waffle Night, held on Thursdays. We hosted late hours and made waffles for students while they worked on their projects. Additional workshops were offered each month, such as 3D modeling, digital design, and toy hacking for increased accessibility. We also offered themed making nights, such as take apart night, where students took apart and tried to fix old electronics. Related events, such as Adaptive Design in the Maker Movement, were also part of the pilot. The space was also used by Tufts Make to build a functional BB-8 droid from Star Wars. Six students learned fiberglass making, soldering, 3D printing, Raspberry Pi and python during this project.

This spring, OT was awarded a Tufts Innovates seed grant to develop a new course entitled Assistive Technology Innovations, and to further develop the Maker Studio at CLIC. As a sequel to the fall course (OTS105), the new course (to be offered Spring 2017) will incorporate rapid prototyping technologies into current fabrication methods by OTs. The goal is to combine the relevant problems that OTs need to solve, concerning people with disabilities, with the user-oriented investigations of HF students and the fabrication knowledge of engineering students. As a result, the course will entail interdisciplinary student teams working closely with clients in order to design, create, implement, and test innovative solutions.

Jumbo’s Maker Studio is closed for the summer. Stay tuned to for a re-opening in the fall!