Warrior Fab Lab Newsletter

to the WELCOME warrior fab lab

Dr. Allan Greenberg & Dr. Ellen Junn

The Warrior Fab Lab seeks to be an inclusive community of educators, learners, and makers that supports a wide range of activities in creativity, education, research, and entrepreneurship. As a disruptor space, and campus resource, we encourage Innovation through experimentation, failure, collaboration, communication, and adaptability. Our primary goal of Education is to promote equitable access to emerging technology for the Empowerment of students, staff, faculty, administrators to be agents of change within the campus and regional community. Mission Statement

What is a makerspace?

A makerspace is a place designated for making. It can include the simplest materials to industrial equipment. A makerspace is a place to play, to create, to learn, to mentor, to invent, to share and educate.

What is a “Fab Lab”?

A digital fabrication lab is a type of makerspace that specifically focuses on digital resources and computer-controlled machines and will have 3D printers, laser cutters, and other equipment. Although rooted in technology, the space is designed for a hands-on, creative learning approach to individual growth and community building through a combination of analog and digital processes. The concept was developed by Neil Gershenfeld from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center of Bits and Atoms.

While each makerspace is different, based on the resources available and community of users, they all share a common, inherent quality as a place to engage in creative learning to make things. Makerspaces can be found inside schools, libraries, and separate public or private facilities for learning, exploring and sharing of information. Fab labs provide the infrastructure and manufacturing equipment indispensable to turn ideas and concepts into reality in a risk-free and low-cost manner.

How can I use the Fab Lab?

One of the biggest challenges of the Warrior Fab Lab is how to keep our users from getting overwhelmed with the nearly infinite possibilites to create something. We have a large range of software and equipment that you can view on our website! Since the possibilities are seemingly endless, we offer several ways to get started on your own or with the help from the student assistants.

Ideation

Ideas are what we’re all about! Getting started in the Fab Lab usually begins with having an idea of what to make. Even seasoned users need to generate ideas for new designs and the process continues until a project is finished. To have fun in this process, the Fab Lab has many resources including our own student assistants and Canvas page with links to online ideation tools. We also have a large variety of games for creative thinking and engagement, Erector sets and other toys, 3D printing pens, iPads, and traditional paper and pencils, crayons, or markers.

Canvas

The Warrior Fab Lab Canvas User Manual is the main source of information for safe and proper use of software and equipment. Modules are designed to prepare students, staff, and faculty to learn at their own pace with written, visual, and video-based instruction. We also have project examples to follow along with if users don’t know where to begin. Beyond the basics, the modules prepare users to enter and use the equipment in the Fab Lab more independently. Our Canvas page continually grows as a central repository of maker knowledge.

Workshops

The Fab Lab Team created workshops that cover the software and equipment in the lab. Hosting workshops at the Warrior Fab Lab is a great segue for the campus community to get a taste of what we have to offer. Workshops are free and we ask that you pre-register through Warrior Life. Bring a friend or make new ones! We have held over 51 workshops with plenty more to come! Student assistants have the opportunity to build curriculum and lesson plans for student engagement and learning giving any students, staff, and faculty the opportunity to get experience they can incorporate into their future practices.

Buttons

Button Making is considered to be a gateway into the maker world and are one of our most popular processes. Once a design is made, our button makers press the buttons and off they go! Buttons can be made as a one-of-a-kind statement, as a gift, or in batches for classes, clubs, promotion, and many other events. We often get return users who were first introduced to the Fab Lab through buttons and have new ideas to create.

2D Versus 3D

Except for 3D printing, most of the equipment needs a two-dimensional design to create something. This can be as simple as a drawing for a button to complex digital compositions. We can also digitize a drawing or create one from scratch on an iPad. Once a design is created, learning a little about software through a Canvas module and a little help from the student assistants is all it takes to create a physical object. 2D designs can also be given a slight thickness and then 3D printed!

3D Printing Pens

Along with buttons, 3D printing and pens are entry-level processes for makers. 3D printing pens can be used to create 3D objects by hand and for repairing 3D prints. Our K-12 tours and workshops usually cover 3D pens as a way of introducing concepts of 3D printing while allowing kids to play immediately with a very small learning curve.

3D Printing

There are three ways to get a 3D model for printing:

• Creating a 3D model from scratch using modeling software that is available on all of our computers,

• 3D scanning an object to create a digital model,

• Downloading a model from an online source

3D models can also be created by any combination of these methods using mesh editing software. Of these, downloading an existing model is the easiest for beginners and we have a list of websites, among many, that can be used to find something for everyone. We also have a video on our Canvas page that details where to find, download and prepare 3D models for 3D printing.

Did You Know?

Button making is an excellent beginning project for new users in makerspaces with an easy, hands-on technique. A button press and a little creativity is all you need at any age or skill level. Buttons can also be a great entry point to learning about basic graphic design and software to combine digital and non-digital methods of making. Button making can be a fun group project and team building exercise!

• Buttons and button-like objects or seals have been discovered in the Indus Valley civilization dating back to 2800 BCE.

• In 1893, Benjamin S. Whitehead created the first modern buttons, also known as button badges when he placed a sheet of celluloid on the front of a button to prevent scratching.

• Currently, over 60% of the world's button supply comes from Qiaotou, Yongjia County, China.

Grand Opening

The Warrior Fab Lab is located in the J. Burton Vasché Library after renovations were completed in 2022. The central location of the the Fab Lab within the library and on campus is symbolic of its place as a university resource, available to students, faculty and staff to engage with new technology, new ideas, and new solutions. It is designed to provide a meaningful, active, and engaging community space that extends beyond the university and into the region.

The Dr. Allan Greenberg & Dr. Ellen Junn Warrior Fab Lab opened its doors in October 2022, but it was the grand opening on April 24, 2023 that officially welcomed the new space to the campus community.

Speeches were made by University Library Dean, Ron Rodriquez; Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Rich Ogle; Fab Lab Director, Jake Weigel; Student Assistant & Coordinator, Melissa Parga, University President and donor, Dr. Ellen Junn; and her husband and donor, Dr. Allan Greenberg. After the ribbon cutting ceremony, guests were welcomed into the Fab Lab for a full showcase and demonstrations of the equipment.

CSUN HSI Community Building Grant

California State University, Northridge is one of the country’s largest Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) of the 571 designated universities. In 2021, CSUN established the Global Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Equity Innovation Hub that includes partnerships with the state of California, Apple, and Autodesk and a new campus building. The hub will work to transform HSIs in the CSU system and throughout the nation with a goal of increasing student success for Latinx and underserved students. These students will gain skills for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields that are in high demand.

As part of the transformation of other CSU HSIs, CSUN provided the CSUN HSI Community Building grants to CSU campuses for proposed projects that “accelerate educational equity while ensuring students have the skills to succeed once they've earned their degrees.”

Along with helping to establish the Warrior Fab Lab as a campus resource, the grant will support the creation of a pipeline for maker education in the region. The Warrior Fab Lab provides support for creative problem solving and innovation inside and outside of the classroom in service of education, sustainability, equitable access to technology and community engagement. Further emphasis is placed on what the Warrior Fab Lab can help contribute for local solutions on campus, Turlock and Central Valley through online educational resources.

We appreciate everyone on the CSUN Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub and Apple Community Education Initiative teams who have contributed to their missions and the Warrior Fab Lab!

Summer Camps

June 2023 was the first summer being open for the Warrior Fab Lab, which also hosted its first camp. These camps cover use of iPads, 3D printing pens, 3D printers, 3D scanning, laser cutters, vinyl cutter, virtual reality and other equipment based on age and skill level.

The first camp the Warrior Fab Lab hosted was the Agriculture Department’s 7th annual Summer LEADS program with Dr. Augustine Avwunudiogba and Dr. Oluwarotimi Odeh. The interactive five-day camp provided exciting hands-on educational activities, exploration of career and job opportunities in the food and agriculture industry, tours of agribusinesses, field and lab activities, campus tours, and more. Two LEADS groups were introduced to how digital fabrication can be used for agriculture technology for local high school, community college, and Stan State students. Sergio Parga provided workshops that explored 3D printing.

A second camp with students in third to sixth grade focused on button making and creating with 3D printing pens as an introduction to 3D printing.

The last camp the Warrior Fab Lab hosted focused on social and environmental justice. Stan State faculty Dr. Virginia Montero Hernandez, Dr. Adam Devitt, and Jake Weigel met with Turlock High teacher Ryan Tribble, doctoral candidate and Cabrillo College faculty, Raina Celise, and UC Merced Ph.D candidate, Oscar Montero Hernandez, to discuss the role of creativity and playfulness in learning and how to enpower students to become agents of change.

With Warrior Fab Lab student assistants and students from Turlock High School, the group created designs and a variety of objects to explore critical issues in the San Joaquin Valley. As a final group project, Oscar Montero Hernandez helped build a virtual reality mural containing the digital designs created throughout the week.

Student User Demographics

From October 2022 to December 2023, the Warrior Fab Lab counted a total of 596 unique Stan State students, 41 Stan State faculty, and over 150 regional K-12 students also used the Warrior Fab Lab.

The data below accounts for the 596 Stan State students. Although the data accounts for 7% of the student population, it is also representative of the total student population of nearly 10,000 at Stan State. Data below and for the general student population are provided by Stan State’s Institutional Effectiveness & Analytics. Thank you to Lisa Fields for her assistance!

Top Ten Majors Using the Fab Lab

Business Administration (63)

Art (54)

Psychology (46)

Multi Subject Instruction (45)

Computer Science (41)

English (36)

Liberal Studies (31)

Criminal Justice (28)

Creative Media (24)

Math (17)

Fab Lab Class Use

Many users are introduced to the Warrior Fab Lab through classes and assignments. We also have faculty makking cool tools for their classrooms! Here are some of the classes that have utilized the Warrior Fab Lab this past year. We look forward to providing opportunities for Stan State faculty to learn how they can use the space and equipment. Faculty interested in bringing their class in for a tour or to use the space during class can complete the Class Visitation Form on our homepage.

• ART 3622: Documentary Videography

• ART 3624: Digital Video Compositing

• ART 3712: Character Animation

• ART 4425: Advanced Studio

• BOT 3700: Flowering Plants

• EDMS 4111: Reading/Language Arts Methods: Bilingual Instruction in English/Spanish

• EDMS 4130: Science & Health Models

• ENGL 1001: First Year Composition

• ENGL 4300: Shakespeare

• ENGL 4615: Teaching English as a Second Language Methods

• HONORS 1010: Reading Seminar in the Humanities

• HONORS 1960: Issues & Advocacy

• HONORS 2850: Service Learning Project

• JOUR 2150: Writing for the Media

• THEA 3300: Fundamentals of Scenic Design

Fab Lab users, do you have pictures of a project made in a class? We would love to have a copy to share! You can email them to us at FabLab@csustan.edu.

Campus Events

Every Wednesday from 11am - 1pm the Warrior Fab Lab can be found tabling in the quad during Warrior Wednesdays. Stop by and check out the latest activities, workshops, and creations! You might also find us at events partnering with Associated Students Inc. (ASI), The Warrior Entrepreneurship & Innovation Group (WEI), the Office of Information Technology (OIT), or the Council for Sustainable Futures depending on the projects we have been working on together.

We can also be found tabling at other events including:

• Graduate Student Welcome

• Science Day

• Warrior Counseling Conference

• Warrior Expo

• Warrior Welcome

Clubs & Organizations

The Warrior Fab Lab hosts events and workshops for various clubs and organizations on campus. The following are some groups that created or joined events with us. If you are an interested club or organization wanting to use the space or equipment, please submit our Club/Organzation Visitation Form on our homepage (www.csustan.edu/FabLab).

▪ Accelerated STEM Pathways through Internships, Research & Engagement (ASPIRE)

▪ AG Summer LEADS Program

▪ Associated Student Inc. (ASI)

▪ Computer Club

▪ Emeritus & Retired Faculty & Staff Association (ERFSA)

▪ McNair Scholars

▪ Photography Club

▪ Queer Art Collective

▪ Robert Noyce Teachers Scholarship Program (NOYCE Scholars)

▪ Smoke and Vape Free Scholars Initiative (SVSFI) Program

▪ STEM Ambassadors

▪ The Outlet

▪ Warrior Entrepreneurship & Innovation Group (WEI)

A Trip to Bhutan

Since 2005, the Fab Foundation has organized the annual FabX Event, an international conference that is hosted by a different country every year. The conference averages 1,200 participants from 55 countries that come together to share, discuss, collaborate and create communities around the different local and global interests regarding digital manufacturing, innovation and technology found in fab labs.

The country of Bhutan hosted Fab23 | Bhutan Designing Resilient Futures at the Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck Super Fab Lab in Thimphu in July 2023. Fab Lab Director, Jake Weigel, and Director of K12 Maker Education & Outreach, Dr. Adam Devitt attended. As part of the sustainability focus, Jake presented Augmented Reality for Sustainability: One Metric Ton of Carbon Project.

The opportunity to see the use of the same technology in another culture was inspiring. The online community of fab labs is another important resource to solving local and global challenges!

photo of the year competition

Every year, the California State University system hosts a photo contest. Each of the 23 campuses is able to submit one photograph for consideration. Merri Hansen captured the photograph for Stan State that received third prize!

Naomi Carrera, student marketing assistant, immerses herself in an interactive virtual reality application in The Dr. Allan Greenberg & Dr. Ellen Junn Warrior Fab Lab. The Fab Lab not only serves as a creative hub for the beautiful Stan State campus, it also was proudly named with a generous gift from Dr. Greenberg and retiring Stan State President Junn. The photo captures Naomi adapting to a simulated world by using a handheld joystick system and HTC VIVE PRO 2 virtual reality glasses. The image serves as a testament to the powerful possibilities that arise when innovation and learning converge. It represents a story of progress, inspiration and the pursuit of excellence through technological innovation and the limitless potential of Stan State’s Warrior Spirit.

The Fab Lab wouldn't be possible without our assistants. As a student-run operation, our diverse team is what gives our space life. Coming from a variety of different backgrounds and majors, each of our student assistants brings something unique to the table. If you need assistance during your visit, they are your biggest fans!

Team

Melissa Parga Art & Sociology 2025

Uriel Alvarez Computer Science 2023

Katelyn Hawthorne Creative Media 2024

Jennifer Nailes Business & Finance 2024

Madelyn Freeman Art & English 2025

Sergio Parga Agriculture 2025

Joel Mandario Liberal Studies 2023

Nickolas Murillo Computer Science 2024 Student Assistants Student Coordinators

Angel FLORES Computer Science 2027 Nursing 2025

Cristina Porras Psychology 2025

KEVIN RYU

in Touch

DONATE HERE

Website

Questions? For policies, FAQs and other details, check out our website to see what we have to offer! (www.csustan.edu/FabLab)

Instagram

Follow us on Instagram @stanstate_fablab to keep in touch with our latest updates and posts. We also have Tik-Tok!

Warrior Life

Join our page on Warrior Life to get a first look on what workshops and upcoming events we will be hosting!

Canvas

Stan State community! Are you ready to engage with tutorials and our equipment? Self-enroll in our Canvas page!

Credits

Designer : Katelyn Hawthorne

Editor : Katelyn Hawthorne

Contributors : Madelyn Freeman & Melissa Parga

Design & Marketing Intern: Marcos Zaragoza, Creative Media Major | 2024

Spanish translation : Marcos Zaragoza, Isabel Vargas & Rosa Gonzalez Faculty

Jake Weigel Founding Director Associate Professor of Art

Dr. Adam Devitt

Director, Maker Pedagogy & K-12 Outreach Assistant Professor of Science Education

Amy Egan

Administrative Analyst Specialist

J. Burton Vasche Library

Thank you to Dr. Allan Greenberg and Dr. Ellen Junn for their generous contributions in helping to establish the Warrior Fab Lab!

Thank you to all the university faculty, staff and community members that have helped in the early stages and continue to support the Warrior Fab Lab!

We would like to give an extra Thank You to Amy Egan for supporting the Fab Lab and student assistants. We are forever grateful for your dedication!