SUNY Old Westbury’s newly opened Makerspace is bringing innovation to life on campus. The Makerspace, which formally opened on April 28, 2026, is an interdisciplinary space within SUNY Old Westbury’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics program, better known as OW STEAM.
“The Makerspace acts as the intersection between the elements of OW STEAM as well as prototyping and entrepreneurship,” said Associate Provost Michael Kavic. “It’s meant to be a flexible environment.”
There's a kind of magic that lends itself to the deep learning that students engage in while in a place like the Makerspace...”
-- Michael Kavic, associate provost
With the supervision and instruction of faculty, students can engage in hands-on learning within the Makerspace using cutting-edge technology and equipment. Using state-of-the-art 3D printers, laser cutters, circuitry centers and soldering stations, students can create and innovate. The Makerspace will also provide students with the software they need to actualize their projects and ideas digitally.
“The space allows for a wide range of possibilities, whether students want to work on an abstract art project or a technological invention,” said Kavic. “The Makerspace is meant to be a focal point where students’ dreams can become their realities.”
The specially designed classroom allows for hands-on learning to flourish and simulates real-world experiences that students will encounter as they advance in their professional careers.
The Makerspace will be used for classes in multiple departments. Its initial soft opening occurred last fall with Psychology Professor Lorenz Neuwirth’s Senior Seminar in Neuroscience. The course covers neuropsychological testing and neurorehabilitation in regard to traumatic brain injuries. Students took a hands-on approach to learning in the Makerspace as they practiced intubations, performed craniotomies with saws, and built bone/skull fasteners, among other necessary clinical procedures.
“There's a kind of magic that lends itself to the deep learning that students engage in while in a place like the Makerspace,” Kavic said. “It rounds out a complete education.”
The Makerspace was built in a previously existing space within the Visual Arts Department in the Campus Center’s F-wing. Its location is optimal for stimulating students’ excitement about learning, whether in the Makerspace working or walking by the space to their next class.
“It was a very purposeful choice to put the Makerspace in a corner room with glass walls,” said Kavic. “We want the community to see students’ activity to help build that sense of connection, innovation, and excitement.”
The newly developed Makerspace is one of two fabrication spaces on campus, with the second being in the Woodlands Hall 5 residence hall as part of the living-learning communities on campus. Students have direct access to the Woodlands Hall 5 Makerspace throughout the night without faculty supervision. It has the primary function of providing computer-based and fabrication-based opportunities.
The newly developed Makerspace in the Campus Center, on the other hand, has heavy-duty equipment, powerful electric capabilities and more physical space for students. It requires instructor supervision and will be primarily used for classes and co-curricular activities.
As part of the OW STEAM program, the Makerspace was made possible via funding from the U.S. Department of Education that came through the support of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer.
Page Banner Caption: SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy E. Sams and Physics major Chandanie Kutwaru '26 cut the ribbon on the new Makerspace as students and faculty look on.