“Your support enables our students to embrace challenges that at times may seem impossible. They learn from their failures, and we take great pleasure in celebrating their successes.”
When students think of MIT, they think of making.
Nearly a third of students attending Campus Preview Weekend express interest in exploring opportunities to “build stuff,” and 70% of incoming first-year students say they plan to use makerspaces. However, less than half of undergraduates have worked in a makerspace by the time they graduate.
That’s why our open-to-all makerspaces matter: they’re where self-directed learning, interdisciplinary teamwork, and passion projects flourish. The sky’s literally the limit. Students build rockets and race cars, make coasters and quilts, craft research tools and musical instruments, and much, much more.
These lively spaces, equipped with a range of machinery and expert technical staff, help students tinker, test, and make their ideas a reality in a safe and supportive environment. And, as important, these open-to-all shops complement the Institute’s makerspaces that serve specific classes, departments, and residence halls.
In the era of AI, authentic hands-on learning matters more than ever. Making should be ubiquitous at MIT, woven into the student experience rather than something students must seek out on their own.
Open Making at MIT
Learn about the making facilities open to all students and how to support them.
Download brochure →
Download brochure →
A winning formula for student project teams
MIT News explores how leadership training strengthens Edgerton Center project teams and helps students develop teamwork and communication skills.
Read the story →
Read the story →
Support Open Making
Your support will help ensure that open-to-all making thrives on campus. Various giving opportunities are available, including helping to build a new endowment for Open Making at MIT; supporting student clubs and teams through funding for essential equipment, materials, and student travel; and naming opportunities to create your lasting legacy in the spaces where students are building the future.
To learn more about supporting making at MIT, please connect with Joline Gniazdowski, capital projects and operations officer, Development, Planning & Initiatives, at [email protected] or 617.253.5243.