Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

New Table Design Serves as Multi-Student Workstation with Storage

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 11/15/21

A Michigan furniture company has introduced a new kind of table for classrooms. The MiEN Company's KIO Tinker table is a 360-degree mobile bookcase that serves as a workstation for up to four students. The table provides storage and workspace and is intended for use in classrooms, media centers, makerspaces and STEM/STEAM spaces.

The middle of the tabletop opens to an inner compartment where objects can be stored. But the lid, when put in place, is also flush with the rest of the table's surface, to offer a smooth 48-square-inch work surface. Teachers can also remove the top lid and use the open top space as a holder for plastic storage bins (up to nine inches deep), placing work materials within easy reach of students.

MiEN Company's KIO Tinker Table

The table includes three tiers of adjustable shelves on its four sides along with three-tier fixed shelving on all its corners. The compartment lids and removable shelving can be stored inside an inner compartment.

Students sit at the table on stools or café-height chairs.

"KIO Tinker's large surface area and various storage possibilities make it the ideal table for exploring, creating and investigating," said Dr. Christina Counts, the company's vice president of education, in a press release. "The built-in flexibility of its patent-pending design takes it from a bookcase to a four-person workstation to a storage unit in seconds. Students can use it whether they're standing or seated. Casters can be added for easy mobility. In short, this durable, future-ready unit adapts to your needs in any learning environment."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Texas State University Completes Stadium Renovations

    Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, recently announced that it has completed a series of additions and renovations to its football stadium, according to a news release. Formerly known as the Bobcat Stadium End Zone Complex, the Johnny and Nathali Weisman Football Performance Center is an 85,000-square-foot expansion featuring hospitality spaces, banquet spaces, exterior concourses, and upgrades to the field house.

  • University of Arizona Approves New Residence Hall

    The Arizona Board of Regents recently approved plans for a new residence hall at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., according to a news release. The new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2028 and have the capacity for more than 1,200 students, enforcing a new university expectation that all first-year students live on campus.

  • University of Rhode Island, Gilbane Partner for Three New Residence Halls

    The University of Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I., recently announced a public-private partnership with construction development firm Gilbane, according to a news release. Gilbane will soon start construction on three new residence halls with a total of 1,100 beds: two with apartment-style suites in northwest campus, and a reconstruction of the Graduate Village Apartments for graduate students.

  • Countway Library at Harvard Medical School

    From Shadows to Sanctuary: The Transformation of Light at Countway Library

    The renovation of Countway Library at Harvard Medical School demonstrates how biophilic design and advanced lighting strategies transformed a formerly dark, insular space into a vibrant, welcoming hub that supports wellness, learning, and community engagement.