One of the perhaps lesser known features of the new Star Building is the Makerspace. Situated in the back-right corner of the third floor, the Makerspace is open all periods of the day for the entire student body, offering a wide variety of crafts and creative opportunities. Some features of the Makerspace include a Cricut sticker cutting machine, a 3D printer, origami books and papers, an arts and crafts station, a button maker, and multiple sewing machines.

Maker Spaces are becoming increasingly common among colleges as well, based on the belief that having a space set aside solely to explore artistic freedoms can and will inspire innovation among students that use it.

One avid user of the Burroughs Makerspace, Lily Orchard (’20), describes the space as a “really great place to de-stress if you like to do craft projects.” Orchard frequently uses the space to express her creativity, visiting during some of her free periods throughout the week. “Recently I’ve been making a lot of different stickers in the Makerspace using the Cricut machine. Making them is simple and fun,” she said. “I’ve also made a lot of scrunchies using one of the sewing machines.  It’s surprisingly easy to do and you can make them with a bunch of different patterns using the fabric in there.”

Amy Phillips (’20) commended the Makerspace for its inclusivity of all grade levels: “I think the Makerspace gives people the opportunity to try new things they might not have access to otherwise. There’s so much stuff in there, crafts and supplies that I didn’t even know existed, so I think it opens the school to a whole new kind of creativity that just taking electives didn’t give before.”

Not only is the Makerspace incredibly inclusive, but it is also constantly trying to improve. A sheet of paper lies in the space allowing any unfulfilled users to add items that should be included in the area. “If I had to pick something else to add to the space, it would be more computers,” Jennifer Kanzler (‘20) opined. “There is only one useable one that is shared between the Cricut and the printer, which can get difficult when multiple people want to use it.” Students can also add materials and different crafts machines to the list with hope that they appear in the space within a few weeks.

Many of the inventions and gadgets made in the Burroughs can be viewed on the official Burroughs Makerspace account, @jbsmakerspace.