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

  • Photo credit - Chuck Coates

    Florida District Modernizes Central Energy Plants at Two High Schools

    Flagler Schools, a public school district in Flagler County, Fla., recently partnered with Matern Professional Engineering to modernize the central energy plants at two of its high schools, according to a news release. The project is part of a larger, district-wide effort to reduce energy costs and operational expenses.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • Rhode Island Boarding School Completes Student Dorm Renovations

    St. George’s School in Middletown, R.I., recently announced the completion of a $26-million renovation project on Arden-Diman-Eccles Dormitory, according to a news release. The school partnered with Voith & Mactavish Architects (VMA) on the new space, which places a new focus on collaborative community spaces open to both boarding students and day students.

  • Moline-Coal Valley School District to Consolidate Two Schools into New Facility

    The Moline-Coal Valley School District in Moline, Ill., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff from two existing schools, according to local news. Robert Ontiveros Elementary School will serve as the new home for Lincoln-Irving Elementary School and Willard Elementary School.