CWRU’s think[box] makerspace opens event space, aims to reach community beyond campus

Brandon Sanders, a design engineer and business owner based in Bedford Heights, remembers the first time he visited Sears think[box], a seven-story, 50,000 square foot innovation center on Case Western Reserve University’s campus.

Sanders found out about think[box] when someone who was doing cutting work for TABAR, the furniture company he owns, told him that he could accomplish the same thing for free at the makerspace. It’s free and open to the public, and offers training on how to use each piece of equipment.

“I felt like I was in heaven. Just seeing all the equipment, all the colors, the 3D things, the machines. And knowing what I wanted to do, I knew I could utilize everything in there,” said Sanders, whose company sells customized furniture for entertainment venues like restaurants and nightclubs. 

Think[box] is the largest open-access makerspace in the United States, but many people don’t know about it. In August, the innovation center opened a space for community members and organizations to host events, part of the university’s effort to share its resources with the surrounding community.

Think[box] holds about $5 million worth of equipment, including 3D printers, laser cutters, a metal shop, a wood shop, and a water jet cutter. It gets about 7,000 visits a month, and last year just under 50% of all undergraduate CWRU students visited at least once, making it one of the most popular places on campus, behind the gym and the library, said Ian Charnas, the director of innovation and technology at think[box]. 

People have made gifts like coasters, phone stands, picture frames, and custom trinkets here, said Ainsley Buckner, director of prototyping, art, and community engagement at think[box]. Last year, community members used digital fabrication equipment at think[box] to put together an art installation in the Glenville neighborhood. 

A photographer who uses a wheelchair and has limited mobility in his arms worked with a group of students at think[box] to create a motorized camera arm that attaches to his wheelchair and helps him take photos. Others have launched startups like Path Robotics, a robotic welding company now based in Columbus, and CLEANR, which is creating filters that would remove microplastics from washing machine waste water, a main source of microplastics.

“When we see spaces like this that have millions of dollars of high-tech equipment, some part of our minds say, ‘Oh, this is for engineers.’ We think this is just for engineers. And honestly, that’s the single biggest myth that we have to dispel,” Charnas said at a Sept. 27 CWRU Innovation Week event showcasing projects that students and faculty created at the makerspace.

Community access and outreach

Think[box] opened in 2012 in an engineering building on campus. It outgrew that space and moved into its current location at the Richey Mixon Building, formerly the Lincoln Storage building, in 2015, with funding from donors like CWRU alumni Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears.

The expansion bolstered the makerspace’s entrepreneurship resources, said Charnas, who helped start think[box]. The sixth and seventh floors offer mentorship, office spaces, and resources to help people launch businesses. 

Awareness of think[box] in Northeast Ohio is “spotty at best,” Charnas said. New visitors may have a hard time finding the makerspace, which doesn’t have public parking at its ground-floor entrance. The primary entrance to think[box] is through the rec center and a pedestrian walkway. 

About 20% of its users are community members, said Buckner, the director of prototyping, art, and community engagement. She wants the new community event space to draw more people to think[box]. 

The event space has two activity rooms, an auditorium, and an exhibition area to showcase projects made at think[box] or art. Organizations can pay between $20 and $60 an hour to rent an activity room, between $50 and $200 an hour to rent the auditorium, or choose a subsidized option to pay less than that or no cost.  

Think[box] also attends community events like YAY! Saturdays and collaborates with other organizations on events. It partners with the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District and Circular Cleveland on free Fix-It CLE repair workshops, where volunteers help community members mend clothing and fix household items like vacuums and toasters every fourth Monday at the makerspace and some Saturdays at varying locations. 

Buckner found out about think[box] through her previous job with Progressive Arts Alliance, now called Arts Impact. She used the 3D printers, computer-aided design, and laser cutters to create art projects and teach students about science and tech. Buckner had no affiliation with CWRU at that time and was surprised that the space was open to the public, she said. 

Now, part of her role with think[box] involves community engagement and spreading the word about the innovation center beyond campus. 

“It’s a pretty unique way for the university to connect because it really is a melting pot where both students and community members are interacting and engaging together,” Buckner said. “A makerspace is a good space for it because you can have all these people from different disciplines coming together and interacting.”

Engaging with entrepreneurs, how to get involved with [think]box

Think[box] also focuses on entrepreneurship, helping people turn their ideas into businesses.

Sanders, the TABAR owner, started working on his business around 2015 and has made furniture for Cleveland venues like District at 1350 Euclid Ave. and Medusa Lounge at 1437 St. Clair Ave. NE, along with places in other states. 

The makerspace has made Sanders’ business more profitable because he makes the furniture himself and doesn’t have to pay to use the space, he said. His long-term goal is opening a showroom for his furniture, and he also hopes to launch more businesses. 

“This place kind of gives me ideas,” Sanders said. “But even if I have the idea, when I come here, it kind of expands. I start seeing, ‘Oh OK, this is how you do it. I can do it. Alright, well what if I do this? OK yeah, you can go that route.’”

Think[box] follows CWRU’s academic calendar, including university holidays. The full makerspace is open from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily and closed on summer weekends. See the full schedule here. 

Buckner suggests coming to see the space to see what it offers before starting a project. Think[box] offers 25-minute guided tours, which can be scheduled 48 hours in advance. 

There’s no cost to access the makerspace and use the equipment, but think[box] visitors must purchase their own supplies. See the list of materials available for purchase at think[box] here and a list of upcoming equipment training sessions here. 

Visitors can park at the Veale Parking Garage (Lot 53) at 2158 Adelbert Rd. To get to think[box] from the garage, enter the Veale Recreation Center and take the pedestrian bridge, which leads to the second floor of the makerspace. See a map and directions here. Parking rates for the garage are listed here. 

The entrance at 11201 Cedar Ave. has two accessible parking spaces and two 15-minute pickup/drop-off parking spaces, which can be purchased with the ParkMobile app. The HealthLine Adelbert Road stop is about an eight-minute walk to the rec center entrance, and the Cedar-University Red Line station is about a three-minute walk to the Cedar Ave. entrance. 

“I hope think[box] continues to be a free and friendly place where you can learn by doing. There’s a lot of socio-emotional benefits to making; there’s a lot of career benefits to making. It’s also very fun,” Charnas said. “So whether you’re here working on hobbies and crafts and fun things, or whether you are here and dedicating as much time as you can every day to try to solve a problem that plagues us in our modern world, you’re gonna find a helpful and friendly group of staff and student technicians here to help you achieve your dreams.”  

For more information, visit think[box]’s website, email thinkbox@case.edu, or call 216-368-3248. Email bsanderstabars@gmail.com to reach TABAR owner Brandon Sanders.