In the Spring of 2024, Texas Inventionworks unveiled a newly revamped woodshop, marking a significant milestone in the resources available to students.
Nestled in the basement below TIW, this space, which once served as a storage area filled with unused woodworking equipment, has undergone a remarkable transformation to become a bustling hub for creativity and skill development.
Access to the woodshop is truly a game-changer for students at Texas Inventionworks. Several student organizations, including Steel Bridge, Concrete Canoe and Sustainable Doghouse, also stand to benefit from the formalized access to woodshop equipment and training to enhance their projects and competitiveness.
Steve Ferraro, TIW Associate Director, and a key figure in the development of the woodshop, shared his excitement: "This woodshop opens up a new pathway for students and a different way of working with equipment and design than some other machines at TIW. Instead of pushing a button and then the machine does it for you, with this woodworking equipment, you have to do a lot more design preparation, think through the process you want to use and engage in hands-on work with the machines".
Steve also highlighted the wealth of knowledge students can gain from the woodshop: "There is so much to learn in there. Anything you make in here is up to your imagination." Steve's biggest wish for the space is to see the projects that come out of it and the joy on students' faces when they complete their work. "The smile on their face when they are done is priceless," he said.
To get started on the equipment training, students are encouraged to join the TIW Canvas page and go to the Woodshop training modules. The training modules are designed to help students progress in their skills and develop the comfort level needed to be safe and skilled on the equipment.
