What’s the Big Idea?

THE SCENE: It’s a crisp Wednesday night, the stars are out, and a small parachute materializes from out of thin air, landing on the side of the Mountain Lakes Public Library. The egg has landed.

A rush of students pounce to retrieve it. “Is it safe?”

At the same time as the egg drop, a 3D printer hums dutifully, processing the task at hand, a layer-by-layer slow roll, which will take on average about 10 hours to complete.

This is just another ordinary weekday evening at the Mountain Lakes Public Library, where young minds are as open as books and projects in progress come to life for testing, tinkering, and toiling to make them just right. Welcome to the Makerspace: The location might be small (only 250 square feet), but the innovations in this imagination station stretch beyond borders.

Think Edison laboratory but powered by cutting edge technology and the creative juices of burgeoning scientists. Bonus score for owning their own podcast.

TECH FOR ALL

“We’ve been called an incubator,” says Ian Matty, who cofounded Makerspace along with his wife Christina Kelly and Nish Kolonne, neither of them quite sure, much like the student-powered rockets, how exactly this venture would land.

Since its inception almost a decade ago, Makerspace remains laser focused on providing the community with technological resources such as 3D printing, robotics, software, and programming. The partnerships with the library, school system, and community groups immerse students of all ages from kindergarten through high school.

For example, there’s the Maker Club for students in grades first through sixth, that constructed a reading castle using 200 pieces of cardboard and 400 Makedo screws in just five hours.

A recent Wednesday night, however, belonged to the high schoolers. Under the direction of lead designer and Makerspace alum Richard He, they commanded the space both inside and out. A 3D printer droned in its pursuit to manufacture a conical rocket nose, while students again headed outdoors to sample colors by way of spray point.

With Mountain Lakes as ground zero, Makerspace serves as a springboard for universal accessibility that bridges technology across all subjects including art, literature, science, and sports. The lab within a lab continues to make a name for itself across the country and around the globe, sharing resources, collaborations and products.

This gels with Matty’s philosophy that  “Innovation is born out of a need you didn’t know you had,” he says.

Rocket launches are as common a sighting around here as the drones that have helped launch them. The Makerspace even boasts its own team, Team Tungsten, and their postings on the Makerspace website speak to their many successes.

This is not to discount the power of paper and pen, which was very much at play as a group of young men pored over a sketching of a human eye, fine tuning a blueprint of an educational game called Eye Spy.

FROM GROUND ZERO

How did this small space dedicated to big ideas become a nationally recognized technological hub?

It started over a monthly game of chess at Hapgoods, organized by Matty and Kelly. The interest grew, as did the crowd. The group relocated to Wildwood Elementary School before their final destination: the library.

An all hands-on deck venture, word spread, and the community wanted in: The Mountain Lakes Garden Club, educators, and parents all contributed to the experiential space.

Makerspace is always a home away from home for Matty and Kelly’s own two sons.

The rush of support keeps the engines revving, and public interest at home and abroad continues to flourish.

“It’s unusual to see a library operate at such a high level in these tech spaces, but we are doing it and getting national recognition for it,” says Mountain Lakes Library Director Jennifer Lynch.

Matty echoed those sentiments in gratitude for the movers and shakers from behind the scenes: “It is very rewarding when parents get involved because they love the positive vibe of the programs, space, and all the wonder that the library represents,” he says.

As for the future of Makerspace? To infinity and beyond! The future is here and it’s right now.

Oh, and the egg launch? The egg is safe. Credit to the students who designed the 3D printed untangling device.

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ACCESSIBILITY FOR ALL

A lab inside a lab

Makerspace runs on the concept of universal design and abides by the philosophy of “accessibility for all.”

The mighty staff of three and the grassroots efforts made possible the launch of the Universal Design Lab, home to the Braille Forward initiative, which incorporates 3D printed resources to assist the vision-challenged community. With collaborations spanning the country and the globe, the design lab has manufactured a number of products that serve the overall mission of accessible reading and even gaming.

“The purpose of technology is to make the world a better place,” says Makerspace cofounder Ian Matty.

The initiative took flight following a Build a Better Book conference at the University of Colorado in 2019, where their team helped solidify “meaningful making” culture.

“I knew that we could make the world more user-friendly for kids who are blind or low vision through technology, creativity and collaboration,” Matty says.

One such collaboration involved a young author based in New York City, who worked with the design lab and Clovernook Center in Ohio to publish her book “Juniper” and the “Red Swoosh,” which hit shelves earlier this year. Co authored by her mom, Chi Hoon Kim, the book is accompanied by an abacus featuring a “click and bump,” system, designed by Makerspace alumnus and lead designer Richard He. The abacus fits the bill of the overall mission of accessibility, as does the audio component.

“Reading is a universal right,” says Matty. “And libraries are great resources for literacies in terms of reaching people and community engagement.”

In addition to the abacus, the lab has produced other tactical experiences including Letter Farm, a word game boasting large text, high-contrast colors, and Braille. A dyslexic font is also in the works.

“The work they do is very compelling, and touches real lives,” says Mountain Lakes Library Director Jennifer Lynch.

To learn more go to www.mountainlakesmakerspace.substack.com.

BY ELLEN S. WILKOWE