Riverwood MakerSpace Celebrates Opening In New Media Center

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — Riverwood International Charter School hosted the grand opening of the recently finalized Raider MakerSpace for students, parents, administrators, and funders on Nov. 8. One of just a few makerspaces available to high school students in the Fulton County School System, the Raider MakerSpace is the ultimate in experiential learning, allowing students to conceive, fail, and persevere as they engage in creating things from the ground up. More than 300 Riverwood students attended the grand opening of the space which is housed in the newly constructed Riverwood Media Center.

Atlanta-based STE(A)M Truck and their team of scientists, artists, engineers, and makers joined the Riverwood MakerSpace team for the grand opening to train students on how to use the equipment and tools that are available for use. The Raider MakerSpace is a version of the former high school “shop class” re-engineered for today and beyond with equipment such as 3-D printers, poster makers, vinyl cutters, screen printers, digital video and sound production systems, and electronic and computer design.

“I am truly excited about The Raider MakerSpace and what it has to offer in terms of high-quality enrichment for our students," Principal Kindra Smith said. "I believe that students learn best when they can engage and take ownership of their learning. The Raider MakerSpace provides our students the opportunity to create, engineer, design and collaborate with others in a place that’s fun and challenging. I’m looking forward to our students being able to use the space to support their Middle Years Program personal projects as well as their Creativity, Activity, and Service projects for the International Baccalaureate program.”

Bolstered in part by two grants totaling $20,000 from the Sandy Springs Society, with matching funds from the Riverwood Foundation and additional grants from Sandy Springs Education Force, this is only the fourth school-wide space of its kind in Fulton County Schools. The Raider MakerSpace supports Riverwood’s strategic initiatives for student achievement and student-focused learning.

Senior Ryan Stoddard who is a member of the Raider MakerSpace team responsible for developing the space for student-wide use said, “It was surreal to see something that I had played a part in conceptualizing as a functional, accessible space. The students and faculty seemed very excited about it, and I am honored to pass this tool and what it represents on to future Riverwood students.”

Junior Piero Maddaleni, also a member of the Raider MakerSpace Team, who works in the MakerSpace during a class period shared, “It’s pretty cool to be able to come to school and have access to equipment and a space that allows us to create and make things and to share that with those at my school.”

The Raider MakerSpace is open every day during the school day and before and after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.