Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

All-Girls High School Expands Makerspace to More Than Four Times Original Size

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 12/14/20

Saint Joseph Academy, an all-girls Catholic high school in Cleveland, expanded its Makerspace innovation lab to 4,800 square feet, more than four times the size of the former makerspace. The expanded space creates a larger hands-on area for students to explore and create using a variety of STEAM-related tools.

“At Saint Joseph Academy, our young women have not only any opportunity, they have every opportunity,” President Kathryn Purcell said in a press release. “The key to making the Makerspace innovation lab a place that students think about using in their design process is to provide our young women with structured opportunities in the Makerspace innovation lab so they are comfortable with the equipment and develop the ‘what if’ mentality. The Class of 2020 graduates were three times more likely than the national average of females choosing engineering as a major.”

The most popular tools in the makerspace include 3D printers, laser engravers, vinyl cutters, the green screen and digital cameras. The makerspace also offers

Some examples of student projects created in the makerspace include:

  • Graphic Design II students used the laser cutter and Adobe graphic software to create their own clocks.
  • Honors Geometry students designed city street maps using the CorelDraw program, then engraved their maps on wood, and later added 3D buildings to the maps.
  • Art 1 students used the makerspace to translate their learning of tessellations within their color theory unit. Students used software to digitally draw an outline of their motif and then used the laser engraver to print a tile of their design.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Myrtle Grove Elementary

    Phased Construction Keeps Students on Campus During Rebuild

    When Escambia County School District needed to replace most of Myrtle Grove Elementary School in Pensacola, Fla., it had three distinct challenges: honor the school's legacy in the community, bring state-of-the-art learning environments to the county, and be seamlessly built on the same site as the active school campus.

  • Spaces4Learning Announces 2026 Product Award Winners

    Spaces4Learning has just announced the winners of the 2026 Product Awards! The award program spotlights outstanding product development achievements of manufacturers and suppliers whose products or services are considered to be particularly noteworthy in their ability to enhance K–12 and higher-education learning environments.

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.

  • Girl Sitting at Library Desk, Using Laptop

    How Campus Design Shapes the Finals Week Experience

    Academic performance is not just about preparation. It is closely tied to how students manage stress, maintain their energy, and shift between work and recovery modes. Much of that is influenced, directly or indirectly, by design.