Access to tools and technology
Steamspace gives you access to equipment and skills you might not find anywhere else.
About Steamspace
Steamspace is Acadia University's makerspace. It is a shared workshop where students, faculty, and staff work on projects using a range of tools and equipment. The space is about 2,500 square feet and is used for both coursework and personal projects.
Why Steamspace?
Hands-on learning
Making things yourself builds practical problem-solving skills and encourages creative thinking.
Collaboration
A shared space brings together people from different programs and with different levels of experience, so they can learn from each other.
Our history
Steamspace began as an idea in 2013. Acadia University professors Dr. Terrance Weatherbee and Dr. Donna Sears wanted to introduce undergraduate business students to new technologies like 3D printing. They believed early, hands-on experience with these tools would better prepare students for a changing workplace.
In 2014, a donation from a Manning School advisory board member paid for the first two 3D printers. Business students used them to learn about 3D printing in industry. Interest from students and faculty across campus grew steadily, and the founders expanded their plans from a business resource to a makerspace for the whole university.
In 2018, Steamspace received funding from the Webster and Windsor Foundations, and Raymond House, in the centre of campus, was chosen as its home. Renovations took longer than expected, and the space opened in 2020, just as COVID-19 restrictions began.
Since 2020
During the pandemic, Steamspace made face shield kits for Acadia students, faculty, and staff. It 3D printed sewer cages for a Nova Scotia project that tested wastewater for SARS-CoV-2. It also built teaching models for courses and mailed them to students so classes could continue without contact.
From 2020 to 2025, Steamspace was open during the winter term and the summer months for workshops, projects, and special events. During that time, it made teaching tools and resources for courses in Business, English, Archaeology, Chemistry, Music, Biology, Computer Science, and other subjects.
Today, Steamspace runs SteamTeam nights during the term. Acadia students, faculty, and staff can drop in and work on projects with help from SteamTeam members.
“I was upstairs and there was a moment, I heard the hum of the machines and the hum of people working together and thought, it’s happening!”
Dr. Donna Sears
Acknowledgement
Steamspace was made possible by funding from the Webster and Windsor Foundations.