Academics
Maker Studio
Creating unique solutions to design challenges
The Maker Studio encourages Bentley students to be creative and innovative by providing engaging design challenges and opportunities to work on guided and unguided personal passion projects.
Students have access to and training for a variety of tools, machines, materials and crafting supplies. While working in the makerspace, they become familiar with the design process and utilize its emphasis on trying novel ideas and learning from failures to create unique solutions to design challenges.
Students can choose from a variety of electives that meet in the Bentley lab. These electives are teacher-led but student-driven and are structured to guide students through the design process as they create their own solutions to design challenges. Courses include:
Students have access to and training for a variety of tools, machines, materials and crafting supplies. While working in the makerspace, they become familiar with the design process and utilize its emphasis on trying novel ideas and learning from failures to create unique solutions to design challenges.
Students can choose from a variety of electives that meet in the Bentley lab. These electives are teacher-led but student-driven and are structured to guide students through the design process as they create their own solutions to design challenges. Courses include:
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- Intro to Robotics and Underwater Robotics covers basic and intermediate robot design and coding and allows students the opportunity to design and build their own robots.
- The Maker Studio elective focuses on the design process and allows students to work independently on a variety of projects.
- Outdoor Cooking allows students to use the space to learn basic cooking skills and features meals cooked from ingredients harvested from our own garden and cooked using outdoor stoves, grills, and a pizza oven.
Flexible Indoor/Outdoor Classroom Space
Our maker studio features large bay doors that open to a forested area near the garden allowing for more space to spread out when working on big projects. Our sturdy workbenches on casters can easily be rearranged to create spaces for students to work individually or in groups. The room is equipped with rolling whiteboards and a smart TV that allows teachers to blend interactive online content with live classroom instruction to design lessons adapted to multiple learning styles.
Our Maker Studio features:
- Retractable walls that create indoor/outdoor classroom space
- Woodworking tools
- Carpentry tools
- Art and craft supplies
- Computer programing equipment
- Robotics kits
- Leatherworking tools
- 3D printers
The makerspace is also open during the after school program for student-driven passion projects. Projects can range from building a miniature pachinko table to crafting a wearable replica of a leather shield from ancient Rome. A teacher is available to guide students through the design process and to help students safely use tools. Free to innovate without specific instructions or rubric, students use their creativity, ingenuity, and initiative as they manage their projects after school.
