Making@Bucknell

Bucknell University is host to a number of studios, labs, and other spaces that are collaborative and facilitate hands-on learning and experimentation. These spaces can be categorized as Makerspaces, media spaces, and course spaces.


Makerspaces

There are several dedicated Makerspaces at Bucknell, each of which has equipment to facilitate particular kinds of making, such as fabrication, computer design, crafting, and 3D printing. Makerspaces are open to all students, faculty, and staff on campus.

The Humanities Lab (HumLab)

The Humanities Lab (HumLab) is a collaborative space that offers screen-sharing, videoconferencing, and laptop computers for free rental.

Tools and equipment include: LCD screens, whiteboards, meeting and collaborating space, laptop computers.

For more information, visit the Humanities Lab website.

7th Street Studio and Makerspace

7th Street Studio & MakerSpace is a place to learn new machinery, work on personal and class projects, and attend a variety of events hosted throughout the semester. With a plethora of resources available, students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to explore their own project ideas, attend weekly events, or sign up for professionally taught classes to further develop or begin a new skill.

Tools and equipment include: 3D scanners, 3D printers, vinyl cutter, T-shirt press, BOSS laser, vacuum former, clay crafting, assorted paints, and more.
*Get trained on using the 7th Street Studio and Makerspace Equipment!

For more information, visit the 7th Street Studio and Makerspace website.

The Maker-E

The Maker-E is a creative space for learning about and working on electronics, programming, and similar projects, and it has everything that students, faculty, and staff need to learn electronics or create their own projects including fabrication and computer aided design. The Maker-E also has meeting spaces along with a large reconfigurable space. The Maker-E is located in room 111 of Dana Engineering and is open to all students, faculty and staff throughout the academic year.

Tools and equipment include: Heat press, vinyl cutter, 3D printers, soldering irons, PCB mill, reflow oven, IR rework station, littleBits, various hand tools, and more.
*Get trained on using the Maker-E equipment!

For more information, visit the Maker-E website.

The Mooney Innovative Design Laboratory

The Mooney Innovative Design Laboratory is a student project space within the College of Engineering at Bucknell University. The Mooney Lab is equipped with a range of tools useful for basic fabrication and assembly, as well as a laser cutter and several 3D printers.  Access to the Lab is available to all Bucknell students, faculty, and staff following the completion of a basic onsite safety orientation.

Tools and equipment include: A 75 W Epilog Fusion 40 Laser Cutter, 3D printers, a bench top drill press, various saws (table, scroll, sliding miter), soldering equipment, and more.
*Get trained on using the Mooney Lab Equipment!

For more information, visit the Mooney Lab website.


Media Spaces

Media spaces are dedicated to a particular kind of making, such as audio or visual productions. These spaces are accessible to all Bucknell students, but reservations may be required in advance. Media spaces at Bucknell include:

Digital Scholarship Studio

The Digital Scholarship Studio is a public-facing space dedicated to digital collaboration, innovation, teaching and research. The studio provides a comfortable and accessible space where members of the Bucknell community can collaborate on digital work, learn more about the best methods for employing technological tools in scholarly applications, and discover and experiment with emerging technologies.

Tools and equipment include: VIVE Virtual Reality headset, LCD screens, whiteboards, meeting and collaboration spaces.

For more information, visit the Digital Scholarship Studio website.

The GIS Underground

Bucknell University has dedicated support for Geographic Information System (GIS) projects, and the Bucknell Library and IT employs two GIS Specialists with the goal of providing full-time support for geospatial technologies. The GIS Specialists’ role is to develop, expand, and support the GIS user community at Bucknell by conducting outreach and promoting the use of GIS across a broad spectrum of teaching, learning and research interests. The GIS Underground is a dedicated GIS lab in Bertrand Libary where faculty and staff can work on their GIS projects and coursework.

Tools and equipment include: Four high-powered PCs with ultra-wide monitors, a large 60″ LCD screen that can be connected via Sharelink, and access to ESRI’s suite of GIS tools, including ArcGIS desktop & extensions, ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online.

For more information, visit the GIS Underground website.

2nd Floor Studio

The 2nd Floor Studio is a media recording space, which faculty and students can use to record videos, podcasts, presentations and more. The 2nd Floor Studio is an easy-to-use media recording space that is pre-configured to make recording video and audio simple, with just the press of a few buttons and a USB drive, making this a great place to record testimonials, interviews, course demonstrations and more.

Tools and equipment include: a pre-configured lighting and audio setup, and green/blue-screen capabilities. Faculty and students can also check out equipment from the L&IT equipment desk, including various photo cameras and mobile video cameras, headphones, wireless mic systems, a directional mic, a tripod, high-end video editing tools, and more.

For more information, visit the Second Floor Studio website.

Digital Video Editing Lab

The Digital Video Editing Lab contains 12 iMac stations for the campus community to produce multimedia content for academic and community programming. The Video Lab also hosts our Jellyfish SAN server, which eliminates the need to purchase external hard drives when working with video/audio software.

Tools and equipment include: 12 high-end iMacs connected to a multi-terrabyte SAN storage server, supporting multi-media creation software such as Audacity, GaragebandAudacity, Apple Final Cut Pro X, Apple Garageband, After Effects, iShowU Studio, Comic Life, FCPX, Adobe Creative Cloud, and more.

For more information, visit the Video Lab website.

Audio Recording Room

The Audio Recording Room, located in Bertrand Library, consists of a sound-proof Audio Booth that faculty and students can use to record audio tracks for videos, podcasts, etc. The Audio Booth features a high-quality Shure microphone connected to a Macintosh computer that easily allows individuals to record sound file(s).

Tools and equipment include: sound-proof audio booth, a high-quality Shure microphone, Mac computer installed with Audacity.

For more information, visit the Audio Recording Room website.

Equipment Desk

The Equipment Desk (Equipment Services) supplements the academic pursuits of the Bucknell community by providing computer and media technology on a short-term loan basis. Students may borrow a laptop to use in the library for up to six hours, and Equipment Services offers a variety of video and multimedia recording equipment to support academic projects. The Equipment Desk is located on the main floor of Bertrand Library.

Tools and equipment include: laptops, adapters, digital cameras, LCD projectors, and video and audio production tools.

For more information, visit the Equipment Services website.


Course Spaces

Course spaces have tools for creating visual art and digital media. These spaces are often reserved for students in a particular major or else enrolled in a specific course. For more information about these spaces, please visit the websites listed below.

Art Barn

The Art Barn is a converted dairy barn on the west campus, tailored to meet the needs of the Art and Art History Department. The Art Barn provides workshop space and equipment primarily for students working on studio art projects.

Tools and equipment include: Various paints and brushes, printmaking and sculpting tools.

For more information, visit the Art and Art History Department website.


To find a Makerspace or other learning space on campus, check out this handy map!