ROGERS -- Entrepreneurs, designers, artists and other creative people hope to have a workshop full of resources downtown in the future.
More than 20 business owners and artists gathered at the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday to discuss creating the Rogers Experimental Community Center, a shared creative community and maker space. The venue would support all manner of creative projects, tinkering and experimentation, such as 3D-printing, metalwork, coding and technology. Other areas of interest include robotics, painting, performing arts and music, sculpture and pottery, woodworking and graphic design.
Rogers Experimental Community Center
The next meeting date isn’t formally set, but leaders expect to have meetings at least once a month to develop ideas and real estate for the maker space. Look for meeting announcements at Facebook.com/RXCCNWA.
Source: Dayton Castleman, museum manager for 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville
"In a perfect world, we'd have beaucoups of storage, space and limitless resources for all these things that are in consideration when making stuff," said Dayton Castleman, museum manager at 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville.
Castleman led the meetings with Karen Wagaman, vice president of downtown development at the Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce; and Jessica Hester, an architect for Verdant Studio.
The first maker space discussion was earlier this month, to ride on the coattails of the creative energy from the Create-It Con at the Rogers Public Library, Castleman said.
No specific location for the maker space has been set, but leaders are leaning toward a downtown location for good proximity to housing and other organizations that could support or make use of the space. Meetings will be about once a month to gather what top priorities the public has.
"We want people to think about 'What would make your life easier?'" Castleman said. Through the use of the maker space, those innovations "could come to fruition. It's all within reach."
The Rogers organization isn't be the only maker space to pop up around the state. Fayetteville-based Startup Junkie Consulting receives $200,000 in annual money from the U.S. Small Business Administration's ScaleUp America initiative to provide its program to businesses for free. Little Rock-based Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub includes a maker space, an arts and design studio and co-working space.
Photos of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub were shown at the Tuesday meeting as an example of what the Rogers center would be modeled after. Makers would have the space and tools to create and store something and finally exhibit it. The University of Arkansas' School of Law Legal Clinic recently began the process of applying the center for nonprofit status.
Adults and teenagers would make up the largest part of the membership, but children and educational opportunities are welcome components also, Castleman said.
Joshua Van Vleet, co-founder and COO of technology company NWA3D, said educational partnerships could be key to the success of a maker space.
"The momentum and part of why my business has grown is that we've embraced the educational concept," Van Vleet said. "We integrate with the classroom, work with schools and interact with kids. You have to have this in Northwest Arkansas, where big developments in tech are on the horizon."
The Arkansas Arts Academy, Heritage High School and the Lane Hotel -- the future site of Haas Hall Academy -- are all near downtown and could be among the first school partnerships, Castleman said.
Jason Quail, assistant operations supervisor at Wal-Mart, mentioned the Amazeum's recent selection as one of 10 family learning facilities in the U.S. chosen to bring maker spaces into classrooms. The initiative is part of the Making Spaces: Expanding Maker Education Across the Nation. It's supported financially by Google Making and Science, the Maker Education Initiative and the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
"This is a starting process," he said. "Amazeum will work with six schools for creating maker spaces through a Kickstarter or Indiegogo fund. One of my primary goals is to have funding for the next 10 years or more."
Amazeum will first work with Old High Middle School, Washington Junior High School, Willowbrook Elementary School in Bentonville, Arkansas Arts Academy in Rogers, J.O. Kelly Middle School in Springdale and The New School in Fayetteville.
"We're thinking ahead about what spaces are needed," Castleman said. "The middle level of art and making are lacking. We don't have mid-level, accessible, affordable spaces. Schools are an essential part of that."
Judy Casey, library director for the Rogers Public Library, said she sees a lot of public interest for science, technology, engineering, art and math from adults in their programming and wanted to show support for the upcoming center.
"We can't provide space or funding, but we can provide information and resources," Casey said. "If we partner and expand out it will give back to our area."
A member of the banking community also expressed support, saying that the idea fit well with the culture of downtown Rogers and would provide a characteristic to the town attractive to newcomers. Other discussion centered on startup businesses that could arise, outgrow the center and further the local economy.
"We will develop the idea, see how it continues to take shape," Castleman said.
NW News on 09/29/2016