Participation Opportunities

What’s going on?

Remember the MET Warehouse on Vassar and Mass Ave? MIT is adding a 17,000 ft2 makerspace on its 1st floor!

The MET will be the largest academic maker space in existence, and it will integrate new maker technology, student staff (mentors) and policies/procedures that will make access a breeze. Enhancements including the MET are part of the MIT’s Maker Revolution in the Campaign for a Better World. If you are in the MIT community and want to make something, come on in… research, class work, personal projects, entrepreneurship.

The goals for the new MET makerspace are as follows:

• The Project Manus makerspace will be a campus-wide makerspace. Every MIT student, staff member and faculty member from any DLC/course will have equal access. It is affiliated with no single school or department.
• The makerspace will be available for people to use for their own purposes, be it research, class projects, personal use, etc. No MIT courses will run in the makerspace. It is an all-welcoming, community-based makerspace, with open access to all qualified and certified makers. It will be viewed like a campus library or gym, not a classroom. Departments have their own teaching spaces.
• Project Manus staff will run the new makerspace. Other makerspaces on campus will not close — this new space will be in addition to all current spaces on campus.

How can you help?

• The perspective of our alumni brings important insight that we want to use to build the best makerspace. This makerspace that will play a key role in preparing our students to make the kinds of impact that you have/will make. We are assembling an alumni advisory board to help design the space and advise on programming and management of the space. If you would like to join the advisory board, contact Prof. Culpepper (via project-manus@mit.edu).
• This project is a massive undertaking, and it will transform the way making is done on our campus for the next 20 years. MIT is a leader in the field, therefore, this will also serve as a ‘gold standard’ for next generation makerspaces. This also ushers in a new paradigm, the integration with makerspaces into residential dorms. We are looking to our alumni to give and support the technology and themed areas of the space. If you would like to speak to someone at MIT about philanthropic support, please contact Catherine Qin Shi in MIT’s Office of Resource Development. Help us make MIT and the world a better place.