Make-a-Thon Reflections
By Dominique Williams | April 2025
On Sunday, March 30, 2025, Make天美传媒app hosted its annual Make-a-Thon, co-sponsored by the Schiller Institute, the Boston College Arts Council, and the 天美传媒app Developmental Technologies (DevTech) Research Group. Over 24 hours, students were challenged to develop a physical, creative object in response to one of three tracks: Art, DevTech, and Sustainability.
This year, I had the privilege of judging for the first time, alongside returning judge Erik Sjostrom, to represent the Schiller Institute. It was rewarding to witness the full range of students鈥� creativity, dedication, and problem-solving on display. The top three overall teams were awarded 3D printers, while each track鈥檚 sponsor also recognized standout projects with additional prizes.
What struck me most was how each project鈥攔egardless of its track鈥攔eflected the Schiller Institute鈥檚 ethos of interdisciplinary problem-solving. While many participants came from Human-Centered Engineering, there were also students from Math, Physics, Studio Art, and Computer Science. Their academic diversity mirrored their approaches, with many integrating engineering, design, and personal experience into thoughtful, tangible outcomes.
One of the overall winners, Hydro-fun, designed for the DevTech track by engineering majors David and Daniel, perfectly embodied this spirit. Hydro-fun (which is still on display in The Hatchery on the third floor of 245 Beacon) is a child-friendly, tactile puzzle that uses water and magnetic pipe pieces to teach hydraulics through play. As water flows from a top receptacle through student-arranged pipe segments, it powers a water wheel at the base that lights up an LED bulb. The creators spoke about their love for puzzles and their hope that Hydro-fun might help children engage with science through critical thinking and hands-on exploration.
Another project that reached across disciplines was a water metering device created by Xander, Jayden, and Alok which was an overall winner and awarded in the sustainability track. They envisioned a consumer-scalable product that could sync via Bluetooth to a smartphone, providing real-time analytics on water usage and encouraging behavioural changes for water conservation. Using a 3D-printed water wheel, a rotary magnet, and a sensor, their device used an Arduino and accompanying code to calculate water consumption from the measured revolutions. Their process of iterating designs, refining prints, and debugging code demonstrated a clear sense of persistence throughout the event.
While many participants were able to successfully demo their projects, there were a few who, due to time constraints, were not as successful. However, this did not make their experiences any less valuable for them as creators or for me as a judge. Physics major Jayden, for example, pivoted during the hackathon after noticing the amount of cardboard waste in the Makerspace. As a regular user of the 3D printer, he had already been thinking about the environmental impact of plastic consumption. Late into the night, he began researching cardboard recycling, blending cardboard paste, and experimenting with printed moulds to create biodegradable storage cubes. Although he wasn鈥檛 able to produce a polished final product, the project鈥檚 conceptual strength and his personal motivation made it a highlight. When I asked if he intended to keep pursuing it, his answer was a confident yes.
It was particularly impactful to me as a judge to see that almost every student had a personal connection to their projects. Personal stories like Jayden鈥檚 were woven throughout the event. Vanessa, a Relay for Life committee president, and her team made paper flowers from recycled scrap paper for cancer survivors visiting campus for their annual event. Real flowers, she noted, often trigger sensitivities in chemotherapy patients, while paper alternatives 鈥� with a surprise lollipop center 鈥� offered both beauty and comfort. She shared that many patients, even when struggling with appetite, still enjoy small, sweet treats like lollipops.
This personal element helped students鈥� projects resonate with others and fueled their passion late at night amidst fatigue and failure. This was the case for Logan, whose project on wildfires was inspired by his experience as a California resident. His project was also impressive because of his willingness to take risks and explore, essentially teaching himself new software, such as ArcGIS overnight, to model topographical maps of the Lake Tahoe area and then using laser cutters to cut about two dozen layers of wood for his geographic model. In addition, he used personal roadside pictures of before and after to create a visualisation tool that demonstrated the devastation resulting from wildfires.
This year鈥檚 Make-a-Thon saw increased participation, with 15 projects making it to judging on the second day. Students were allowed to submit the same project into multiple tracks. I was particularly struck by the projects that combined artistic expression with mechanical ingenuity, like an attempted cam driven ripple machine submitted to the Art track and a gear mechanism that was entered in both Art and DevTech. These hybrid projects exemplified the creative freedom and interdisciplinary thinking the event encourages鈥攑ushing against traditional boundaries of STEM or art.
Final Thoughts
The 2025 Boston College Makerspace Make-a-Thon was a vivid display of student imagination, technical skill, and personal passion. From sustainability innovations to heartfelt artistic creations, the projects spoke to more than just engineering or aesthetics鈥攖hey reflected students鈥� values, identities, and desire to make an impact. As a first-time judge, I was deeply inspired by the atmosphere of collaboration, experimentation, and learning. Events like these remind us that innovation isn鈥檛 just about what we build but why鈥攁nd who we build it for.