We were funded 114%! With this crowdfunding, we will be able to purchase more equipment and materials for the sandbox. to provide to all UofM students and employees. Check out our upcoming events at libcal.memphis.edu, and learn more at libraries.memphis.edu/technology.

To turn the weird-looking contraption of a VR headset into a totally wild adventure, all users need is a smartphone! The VR headsets allow users to interact with many of the VR apps available (free and paid apps!).

What are Makey Makey kits? Weird name, seriously fun technology UofM students and employees can check out and take out of the library! Makey Makey kits (created by MIT Media Lab) allow users to create their own keyboard (make-key) using any object that conducts electricity: Play-Doh, bananas, plants, even humans! Users can make music, play games, and use the kit as a keyboard - imaginations run wild! The circuit board each kit comes with connects to a computer with a USB cord. Users connect included alligator clip cords to build circuits between their electricity-conducting object and the program on the computer! The kits have been a huge hit at UofM’s Family Resource Fair, Welcome Week Circus (singing pickle, anyone??), and demos in the sandbox.

With our first MomentUM fundraiser, we were able to purchase a Cricut vinyl and paper cutter! Users just need the Cricut Design Space website and their imagination! We have used the Cricut in many of our Maker Monday workshops, and have used it to create nameplates for our the sandbox. Builder Wall. Users can check out the Cricut Vinyl Cutter and use it in the 1st floor creatorspace. We would like to be able to offer free supplies (paper, vinyl) for users in the future!

Video of how we created the builder wall:

3D printing continues to be one of our most popular technologies at the library. The coolest part about our 3D printers is that they’re free to students and employees! We have weekly 3D printer orientation sessions, run by Casey and our awesome student worker, Drew. Anyone at UofM can attend these to learn how to use and reserve the printers! At no cost, they can check out a 3D printer extruder, select whatever color of plastic filament catches their eye, and start printing!   the sandbox. is a great collaborative space for students to teach and learn from each other.

More about our Maker Monday events! 

Maker Monday -- Pride Pennants

Our first Maker Monday event was scheduled right before Homecoming, so we made Pride Pennants to support the football team. The event was such a success that we’re going to do another one this spring, for basketball season. More than a dozen students made pennants, and created a huge range of styles, some included nothing but felt and googley eyes, while others included intricate designs cut out using the Cricut vinyl cutter.

Maker Monday -- Zines

This Maker Monday event was a ton of fun because it was a mix of people who were very passionate about zines and people who had never heard of them, but thought they sounded interesting. For the event, everyone sat around one huge table and the conversations were fascinating, bringing together both faculty and students to talk about everything from history, archeology, Halloween, music, books, and more!

Because our first MomentUM fundraiser was such a huge success, we knew we wanted to create workshops for students to interact with this new technology to complete a project. We identified some fun projects that would highlight how useful this new technology could be. Each Maker Monday has been more fun than the last, and we have so many ideas for future Maker Mondays! It is really cool to see students move from paint and glue to 3D printers to a sewing machine to craft a project into life. We have been so hands-on that we haven’t captured these extensively, but hope we can do justice in describing and showing you photos.

Maker Monday -- Board Games

This Maker Monday was intensely collaborative among participants. There was much discussion about the logic behind games and how to put that logic into practice. Everyone asked questions, and shared their ideas and suggestions. The 3D-printed miniature game pieces were a huge hit.

Maker Monday -- Stress Dolls

Sewing is one of our “old school” techonologies that we get a lot of inquiries about, so we decided to let students sew their very own stress dolls. The dolls started with a simple pattern and students got to trace it, cut out their own fabric and then sew the fabric, and fill the shell with batting. Some students opted to hand-stitch their dolls, while others did their using our Brother sewing machine. The skill and experience levels varied greatly as well, but everyone learned a lot and walked out with a cool, handmade stress doll to get them through Finals Week!

We're live!

We posted a short unveiling video to our to @UofMLibraries Instagram account. Over the course of these 30 days, we will share what we've been up to this past year!