Mann Library’s new MannUfactory makerspace hosted a Galentine’s Day celebration on Tuesday to celebrate the play on the February holiday — made popular by a Parks and Recreation episode — and used the event to introduce students to the room’s features.
Galentine’s Day, celebrated on the eve of Valentine’s Day, as established in the 2010 episode of the show, brings women together for a casual get-together to recognize female friendships.
“As a Parks and Recreation fan, I’ve always loved the idea of Galentine’s Day and was excited to share that by hosting a fun, crafty afternoon celebrating friendship,” said Camille Andrews, user engagement librarian.
The two hour event provided students with a space to write cards and create buttons “celebrating friendship.” Gadgets like button makers, 3-D printers, an HTC Vive virtual reality room, a speciality printer and sewing machines were also available to students.
“Events like this will attract more people to this special space,” Joyee Mok ’20 said. “It’s a liberating place. It’s great for people who don’t have all the artistic outlets they need.”
“This is amazing, a great way to spend the end of Monday. I enjoyed making buttons for all my friends, while listening to music,” said Asmita Bhatta ’20.
Boris Tsang / Sun Staff Photographer
Galentine’s Day activities at MannUfactory.
MannUfactory is available Monday to Thursday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Students can utilize the space for projects and experiments, such as creating prototypes, presentations or podcasts.
“As a grad student from the communications department, I didn’t have the tools at my department to work on the hands-on portion of my dissertation,” said Wang Liao grad. “I’m creating a device to get the physiological signals such as heart rate. Here, I can 3-D print the enclosure for my device and use hardware tools to drill for a tenth of its price.”
The new makerspace also hosts workshops for students to attend and learn about the equipment on hand, as well as offers space for students and faculty members to host their own events and workshops.
In March, MannUfactory will be will be hosting a workshop titled Intro to 3-D Modeling and Printing, and the sign-up list is already full, according to the website.
“That’s amazing,” Andrews said in response. “We’re really happy. This place is really student-driven. And if students want more workshops, we’ll have more.”
“We’re all makers, whether it’s coding or sewing. This is a comfortable space that encourages cross-discipline collaboration,”Andrews said.