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Steamshop Satellite @ Stapleton: Opening of new Maker’s Space Gives Students Space to Express Themselves

The Steamshop satellite at Stapleton Library has been in progress since last year, and its opening brings IUP’s maker space closer to students. The main Steamshop location is in Robertshaw, which is a mile off campus so most students aren’t aware that it exists. The library satellite brings the Steamshop to a more convenient and easier-to-find location. The grand opening happened on Friday, Oct. 4 from 2:30 to 3:30. The event included Dippin’ Dots and a project in which students got to put together their own version of IUP Libraries’ Mascot, Baby Norm. For the Baby Norm project students would get a capsule out of a bubblegum machine that contained a set of pieces to make Baby Norm. Then students would go into the Steamshop satellite and pick out a Baby Norm body, after picking out a body they would put Baby Norm together and add accessories. “I think this is a really cool space,” said Mia Maiola (freshman, pre-med), “I loved building the Baby Norms and seeing everyone’s creative juices flowing.” The Baby Norm project gave students an idea of what is available to them at the Steamshop satellite. The satellite offers facilities like sewing machines, 3D printers and laser cutters. A unique feature of the satellite is its collection of loanable laptops. The laptops are available to students for free and are pre-loaded with art and design software like Blender, which is a graphic design/animation software. This allows for students to have access to these software programs for free, instead of having to pay for them. The goal of the satellite space is to give students access to technology but also to foster community. “There’s technology here but it’s really about building community and using the technology to support student’s ideas,” said co-founder of Steamshop Sean Derry, “We really see this as a resource that is important to provide students.” Steamshop was co-founded by Sean Derry and Dr. Sharon Massey, both of whom are professors of art and design here at IUP. Both professors are excited about the Steamshop satellite and what it means for IUP students.