The University of Wyoming reports rural and remote communities and schools in Wyoming soon will have access to robots, 3D printers, drones, laser cutters and all kinds of other STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) educational electronic tools and equipment all due to UW’s Wyrkshop Mobile Makerspace program, which is ready to roll.

“The Wyrkshop Mobile Makerspace program seeks to bridge the gap between rural and remote Wyoming communities and brick-and-mortar makerspaces,” Mobile Makerspace Coordinator Emily Leinen said. “Students across Wyoming can earn cross-institutional credentials and get hands-on experience with cutting-edge STEAM technology and equipment in their own communities. Exposure to these makerspaces will help prepare students for future careers in STEAM fields, industry, community college and four-year universities.”

According to the University, of Wyoming’s 179 communities, 79 percent are considered rural. Throughout the state, there are 11 major brick-and-mortar makerspaces that offer access to introductory and advanced emergent technology and associated curriculum, Leinen said.

The university reports that there are three types of mobile makerspaces — crates, trailers and mobile workshops — available to suit rural communities throughout Wyoming. The concept is comparable to the old bookmobile, but with technological equipment — rather than books — on wheels being brought to the doorsteps of schools. There are three maker crates that contain five pieces of equipment; the trailer option includes two 7-by-14-foot trailers where equipment is pulled out to make a pop-up makerspace; and the mobile workshop option is an 8.5-by-28-foot cargo trailer where students can go both inside and outside. This workshop includes all of the equipment in the 7-by-14-foot trailers but in larger quantities.

Equipment in the mobile makerspaces includes 3D printers, a Glowforge 3D laser cutter, LEGO and LEGO Mindstorm, codable kits and toys, ozobots, microcontrollers and electronics, mini drones, sewing machines, a soldering bench, projectors, laptops, iPads and woodshop tools.

Students can train in one makerspace and instantly gain access to the entire network. Under the collaborative Maker Access Map program, students can attend free workshops, earn badges, learn marketable skills and gain hands-on experience with world-class equipment, all for free. Makerspaces provide a critical opportunity to access emergent technology and fabrication tools that may otherwise be inaccessible due to cost, size, ventilation, power or other factors.

Mobile makerspaces can stay at a school — at no cost — from one month to six months, Leinen said.

Startup funding for the project was made possible through support from Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon’s Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP) initiative. WIP’s goal is to improve Wyoming’s economic prosperity through the coordinated efforts that link community goals and strengths to the state’s strategy for economic development and diversification.

“The governor signed off on this and is excited about all of the components,” Leinen said. “My component (Wyrkshop Mobile Makerspace) is $1.5 million.”

For more information about the Wyrkshop Mobile Makerspace program, go to www.uwyo.edu/wip/makerspace. To find a local makerspace, go to www.wyrkshop.org/map. To request a mobile makerspace, email Leinen at eschmid@uwyo.edu.

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