This guest post is by Sevile G. Mannickarottu, founder of the Bio-MakerSpace at the University of Pennsylvania, with Michael G. Patterson, its current director, and Carolyne Godon, who helped develop it. They are the authors of Creating Makerspaces, a book that goes deeper into the systems, tradeoffs and design decisions behind creating these spaces.
We’ve watched beautifully equipped makerspaces sit idle, while far less impressive spaces quietly produce companies, careers and long-lasting communities.
The difference is rarely the tools. An effective makerspace can lead to new companies, stronger technical confidence, and durable communities built around learning and collaboration.
The most important lesson is this: A makerspace is not a place, it’s a system.
But, again and again, we’ve seen organizations invest heavily in equipment, space design and launch-day…
