MakerSpace
With an eye to the future of education, creativity, innovation, and manufacturing, St. Xavier opened a MakerSpace at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. After meeting with representatives from multiple departments, touring and researching a wide variety of other spaces, and many hours of discussion and collaborative research, the space was initially constructed and located at the front of the library. During the first semester, the popularity and use of the space went well beyond expectations, and the decision was made to move the space to the Fine Arts wing over Christmas break.
The hope for the St. X MakerSpace is two-fold: to enable student-driven creation in response to broad instructional guidelines, and to encourage experimentation and foster creativity outside of the classroom.
Within the space students have access to:
- Over 4, 600 square feet of space
- Additive and subtractive manufacturing, using wood, plastics, metal, and many other materials.
- Programmable micro-controllers, such as the Raspberry Pi and Arduino.
- Power tools, including a miter saw, a table saw, a belt sander, a drill press, and multiple hand tools.
- Fifteen(15) 3D printers, including multiple Prusa i3 Mark 3s, and a large format Fusion printer.
- Two(2) Laser etcher / cutter.
- Large bed CNC (computer-controlled machining) router.
- Large format (54") printer for making posters, decals, stencils, and much more.
