The 4th Annual Nolop Makerspace Haunted House took place on Friday, October 29, 2021, and was the best one yet! Last year was fully virtual, so it was extra exciting to be back in-person this year. The event was sponsored by the Tufts Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO), Nolop Makerspace, and the School of Engineering (SOE), and is expanding to also feature projects from first-year engineering students in Professor Steven Bell’s Engineering in the Kitchen class & graduate students’ robotics research, in addition to featuring projects from first-year engineering students in Professor Ethan Danahy’s Simple Robotics class as in previous years. 

Inside the makerspace, attendees were eager to be spooked by the exhibits on display, and to receive candy after braving their way around. Students were also hiding near their spooky machines to make any last-minute fixes to unexpected problems that may have arisen. Visitors had been anxiously awaiting the return to the in-person Nolop Haunted House. Throughout the entire hour, Nolop Makerspace was completely packed with attendees. 

Of all the projects featured, there were about 20 first-year engineering group projects on display from two different classes. Projects from Professor Ethan Danahy’s Simple Robotics class were all robotic creations made with the SPIKE Prime robotics set from LEGO Education, and students from Professor Steven Bell’s Engineering in the Kitchen class hollowed out pumpkins & embedded various electronics (powered by Arduinos) inside to create interactive experiences for the guests. These were all made start-to-finish in under two weeks! Some exhibits featured a game that used a cleaver to ‘chop’ a player’s arm, while others spotlighted skeletons and ghosts tossing candy at attendees when triggered. Students were able to work in groups to create more extensive and elaborate spooky machines.

At the end of the event, everyone felt perfect amounts of fear and amusement – just in time for Halloween! Special thanks to Brandon Stafford, the Director of the Nolop Makerspace, and the School of Engineering for supporting this annual event. We are already looking forward to the 5th annual Nolop Haunted House in Fall 2022, and hope to be able to be open to the public again in a post-pandemic world! For more information regarding the haunted house, visit: http://nolop.org/haunted-house/