iMAKE Innovation Center is a maker space in Moreno Valley, CA. It is a community of makers, tinkerers, and hackers who come together to inspire each other, share knowledge and collaborate on projects.

They aim to provide a space for people to come together to learn new skills and explore their creativity with electronics, robotics, woodworking, and more. The members are from all over the world and have diverse interests ranging from radio-controlled vehicles to 3D printing.

They offer classes on various topics like Arduino programming, soldering, microcontrollers, circuits, and more.

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How Was the MVC iMAKE Innovation Center Built?

The California Community College Chancellor’s Office awarded MVC one of 24 California Community College Maker Implementation Grants. Through a competitive procedure, the Chancellor’s Office gave the College $100,000 to construct an inclusive maker space community, give internships, and design a curriculum to empower students with innovation and entrepreneurial skills to flourish in the regional economy.

According to Carol Pepper-Kittredge, CCC Maker Statewide Project Manager, makerspaces are the latest innovation to let students, instructors, and staff communicate on shared interests, learn to utilize tools, create class projects, and acquire knowledge via discovery and hands-on experiences.

What Does This Innovation Center Offer to Students?

The center offers students the following:

• A network of over 25 computer-controlled machines available for student use 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• A wide variety of materials, including plastics, woods, metals, and fabrics.

• Access to 21st-century manufacturing tools such as laser cutters, CNC mills, and lathes.

• Opportunities for students to develop their skills in design, prototyping, and manufacturing through individualized training and project-based learning experiences.

• The center also serves businesses by providing them access to high-tech machines that can reduce costs associated with traditional manufacturing processes by up to 70 percent.

“Moreno Valley College is committed to paving the road so that our students can succeed. This center will lead to transformational changes when it comes to learning, creating, and delivering solutions to today’s and tomorrow’s problems. The center is equipped as well as any other college, and maybe even some businesses.”

Robin Steinback, Ph.D., president, Moreno Valley College.

The Mission of iMAKE

Moreno Valley College’s iMake Mobile Innovation Center encourages engagement and involvement in STEM fields of study and careers by providing enriched, inquiry-based, experiential STEM activities.

MVC iMake Mobile Innovation Center is a mobile “learning” lab that delivers STEM engagement activities under the leadership of the STEM Center. The iMake Mobile Innovation Center, created to improve STEM education by providing hands-on, interactive activities and unique STEM experiences, will bring STEM education to MVC and its community. As a result, students will be exposed to and engaged in STEM education at a high level.

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STEM Academic Center 

Individuals and collaborative groups of learners have access to the iMake Mobile Innovation Center through MVC. Hands-on, interdisciplinary laboratories, and multimedia technologies are used in STEM activities. The iMake Mobile Innovation Center fosters STEM diversity by paying attention to students’ cultural backgrounds and educational requirements through a new and better supplemental curriculum that delivers exceptional STEM experiences.

http://mvcstemssc.com/micenter/

Jason Kennedy is the manager of the iMAKE Innovation Center, while Donnell Layne is the director of the College’s STEM grant. The iMAKE Innovation Center combines the College’s iMAKE Mobile Innovation Center. This learning lab provides STEM engagement activities to students around the region through hands-on, engaging activities and unique STEM experiences.

The iMAKE Innovation Center was created to give students, instructors, staff, community, and business leaders an educational training facility. To know more about Moreno Valley College’s iMAKE Innovation Center, visit www.mvccte.com/imake/

MakerSpace

MVC’s makerspace is a hands-on, inclusive, instructional learning environment designed to make and remake the physical and digital world fostering experimentation, invention, creation, exploration, and STEM learning.

If you are passionate about making things with your hands, here’s a list of things you can find at the MVC iMake Innovation Center to treat your inner maker:

• 3D Printers
• Design Software
• Fabric/Molding
• Laser Cutters
• Prototyping
• Vinyl Printers
• Virtual Reality
• Wet Lab
• Wood Working

Amazon Invests in Moreno Valley

The City of Moreno Valley obtained a $100,000 donation from Amazon for the City Mayor’s MoVaLEARNS program. This generous donation will fund a full year of the MoVaLEARNS program through the Moreno Valley Community Foundation. 

C3 Expo in Bourns Family Youth Innovation Center

We have reported about the C3 expo that is on a mission to prepare 1 million minority youth coders, makers, and designers for future tech jobs. The non-profit develops programs that build and improves programming and robotics skills in minority youth aged 8-18. The program design is based on scenario-based learning. It was held in the Riverside Bourns Family Youth innovation center.