In October, Librarian Rachel Miller opened a new station in the library dubbed the Makerspace. Miller started the Makerspace after seeing it as a big trend in other high school libraries.

Since the Ram Resource Room does not have a lot of extra space available for a large-scale Makerspace, Miller made the idea her own and started a low-tech area that still offers students similar opportunities.

Miller’s goal for the Makerspace is for students to have the freedom to be creative and have a chance to relax with fewer restrictions than there are in the average classroom.

Miller has many activity options to choose from in the space — the most popular being diamond painting and jewelry making. The space mostly relies on donations to keep the space alive.

Even though students are the ones primarily enjoying the Makerspace, several teachers and administrators have come as well to get a glimpse of what goes on. They may not use the space themselves, but they like to see what students are making or doing to relieve stress.

“We have a regular rotation of kids using the space, and I’ve heard nothing but positive things. The students have expressed how glad they are that these things are available to them and how it gives them something to look forward to,” said Miller.

The only issue that comes with the Makerspace is keeping it clean. Although most students do so, there have been some who have not.

In order to keep the space up and running long-term, Miller stresses that it must be treated respectfully.