By Amelia Becker, CEEO Undergraduate Intern

The Second Annual Nolop Makerspace Haunted House took place on Wednesday, October 30th, 2019. Sponsored by the Tufts Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO), Nolop Makerspace, and the School of Engineering (SOE), the haunted house featured a wide collection of student-made interactive exhibits. These spooky machines were made by students in Professor Ethan Danahy’s Simple Robotics class (Intro to Engineering course), Tufts Robotics Club, Tufts Make Club, and more.

Inside the Nolop Makerspace, groups of students clustered around tables with their projects. As they fixed last-minute glitches in their projects, students and faculty began walking around to view the creations.

Signs in front of the machines had warning like “Take candy, if you dare.” Those brave enough, reached for candy, only to find a plastic spider drop from the ceiling, or a skull bite down on their hand. Occasionally a burst of scary music or recorded screams would fill the room as students and faculty reached for candy.

Other machines included a skeleton that rolled around and played music, a floating ghost skull that could only be seen by looking through a window in a box, and skeletons and bloody plastic knives swinging from the ceiling.

As members of the community went around exploring the machines, there was a chorus of “oohs” and “aahs” throughout the room. Flashes of light lit up the room as people captured pictures of the machines in action.

There was a sense of pride in the room from both students and their advisors. Students had created machines in just a short time that they were able to show off to friends and other members of the community. Advisors were excited to see how their students’ machines all came together.

With spooky machines and candy all around the darkened room, members of the community definitely got fully engaged in the Halloween spirit.