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

  • How Proactive Maintenance Can Transform Athletic Facilities into Strategic Assets for College Sports

    College athletics is entering one of the most transformative periods in its history. With NIL reshaping financial models and competitive expectations, athletic departments across the country are being asked to do more than ever with increasingly constrained resources.

  • 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.

  • Texas District Breaks Ground on Second High School

    The Waller Independent School District in Waller, Texas, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for what will become its second high school, according to a news release.

  • Vanderbilt to Partner with ABM for Campus Preservation and Modernization

    Vanderbilt University recently announced that it has selected ABM Performance Solutions for a preservation and modernization project at its New York City campus, according to a news release. ABM will deliver its end-to-end ABM Performance Solutions (APS) model to manage critical operations during renovation and maintenance.