Explore the SRV
Explore the Susquehanna River Valley with Lura Good!
Explore the SRV
Full STEAM Ahead: Where Ideas Spark in Sunbury
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What happens when curiosity turns into creation? In this episode of Explore the SRV, we’re on site at STEAM Innovation Labs in Sunbury to learn how students and educators are bringing ideas to life through hands-on experiences and innovation.
Explore the SRV with Lura Good! Learn more at www.VisitCentralPA.org. #ExploreSRV
Welcome back to Explore the SRV. I'm Laura Good, and as always, we are exploring the Susquehanna River Valley. We are inside the Steam Innovation Lab, which is on Market Street in beautiful Sunbury, Pennsylvania. And joining me today on the podcast is Kevin Brocius, the program director of Steam Innovation Labs, and its founder, Megan Beck. Welcome. Thank you. Thank you so much for being here. Yeah, we're glad you could come to visit. This is a cool space, guys. Thanks. Thanks so much. So, first out of the gate, STEAM. STEM. You hear those words in education, and now you're starting to hear them pop up in the community. What does that stand for?
SPEAKER_01So it's um uh science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Okay. Um the A was added whenever we realized, you know, arts are also a big part of all of those activities and um and how they participate in people's lives. And a lot some people do think it's like, oh, are you like for kids and stuff because they hear steam? And actually, we are more leaning towards like teens to adults um with our programming, although we have like an open house.
SPEAKER_02Cool, cool, cool. So, um, of course, we're in Sunbury, Market Street. Um, you're the founder. This is a cool building. Is there any particular history behind this building?
SPEAKER_01I love the mural on the side, it's great. Well, thank you so much. Yeah, that uh murals by Pedro Reyes, and he took a lot of time and ours. It's just a beautiful mural there, and we are really lucky to be in a downtown space because we wanted uh the makers that we have here, we want to have a retail space for them for the public to be able to access the things that they make. So that's part of the reason why it's such a great location to have a maker space.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so Kevin, um, Megan, you just mentioned a retail space and then makers classes. Kevin, for somebody showing up here first time, how would you explain what this is all about? Because it seems like it's multifaceted.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. I like to remind people that we're called Steam Innovation Labs and there are different areas of specialty. So um, you know, when someone comes in, I like to offer them a tour of the space to try and and ask them, you know, different questions about what their interests are and and kind of share the space with them and and begin to create like a you know a verbal dialogue and yeah and a connection with them.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so there's different sort of spaces within this big building. What are they?
SPEAKER_00Correct. So so you would come in and there's a lot of opportunities again to do pottery, woodworking, uh welding, photography, um, and then digital fabrication with electronics. So yeah, yeah, there's there's a a large gamut of choices.
SPEAKER_02That's really, really cool. So if um, of course, we're here because of our awesome visitors bureau, right? So we want people to start to not only be backyard tourists, right, who live here locally, but then also include people coming into this area. If someone's visiting, what's the number like why would they come here? What could they put on the list to do if they're spending a weekend here?
SPEAKER_01Well, if they're here on a first Friday of the month, we have an open house and that is all ages, family members, everybody can just come in and we usually have a craft or experience that might be science related or craft related. Um, if they're uh here for a big event and maybe there's some folks in the family that aren't necessarily participating in the event, they could look to see what classes we have. Okay. We have classes that are available um every week in different topics in all of our different lab areas.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so then is this more of a plan ahead spot or can people just kind of pop in or is it both?
SPEAKER_00I would say it's both, but definitely for our classes, uh it's good to look and plan ahead. Okay. But there's a lot of art and and different unique items that people can come in and look at. We've got like a gallery experience in our retail area where there's you know just a large selection of items from local creators.
SPEAKER_02So then you have regular business hours that folks could simply come and just shop locally, yes, 12 to 8 every day. Oh, very nice. So then I'm assuming every single thing that you would see in your retail space has been made or fabricated by someone.
SPEAKER_01And or it's a supply, right? Like so we try to have supplies here so that our makers who are members of this space, who might be locals who, you know, have an art or hobby they're trying to pursue or grow. Um, if you remember, you know, there's uh supplies here in the retail space that you can just sample to get started on a project. And same thing, people can walk in and purchase those supplies also. Yeah, neat. Okay.
SPEAKER_00One thing that I would connect with that is I I think one of our values is to make sure that we are not um making a a new hobby experience like prohibitively expensive. Cool. Like we wouldn't want somebody to you know have have a cost barrier in front of trying something that they might really love.
SPEAKER_02Okay, okay. So for example, I was creeping on the website a little bit. There is, and it seems quite affordable, a jewelry making class that was recently held and then also upcoming, and it's with copper, which can be expensive. But I believe that price point was only $20 for participation, and you go home with the item you've made, right? Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Like we try and focus on make and take classes, and we have lots of great instructors, um, like um Sarah Bender, who does the the copper jewelry, and it is just fantastic, and she gives people the opportunity to stay for one session and do a bracelet or two sessions and also do a ring. Okay. Um, but we try to keep things as affordable as possible and also give the opportunity for local people with experience in the arts to share their art with other people and and have another stream of revenue as well.
SPEAKER_02So speaking about the space and all of the different things that are encompassed in this building, um, are there things that people can pop in and try hands-on? Or because you mentioned you have supplies, you want it accessible, affordable. How does that work?
SPEAKER_00So, as far as coming in um just randomly to try and do something hands-on, that might only include petting the shop cat Clementine. We love Clementine. Receiving a tour of the space and and learning about the space. Um, again, we need to, we would want to plan a class or or like a private class or even a private party, um, something like um Oh, that's fine.
SPEAKER_02So you could do almost like you could do like a girl's night. Absolutely. And like, hey, I want to learn how to paint more, paint more, or do stained glass or whatever. And you would is that how that works? You connect with the maker and it you give the cost, and it's like me and six of my friends.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. And any of our areas that you can find we've ever had a class in, we can probably arrange a fun.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's great. So then, in terms of popping in, Megan, you said daily or open noon until eight, so people can shop. Obviously, Clementine's the superstar. Yes. So we we need to be including in this new video portion some videos of Clementine, please and thank you. She's amazing. Absolutely. Also a genetic rarity. She is an orange female cat. But um, that's really cool. So you do private events and classes and all that stuff. Absolutely. Wow. Okay. So when when giving people a tour, Kevin, what are folks surprised by the most when they visit here for the first time?
SPEAKER_00I would say the just the the large selection of of equipment and tools that are available that they can that they can use. Um that's that's probably just again, it's it's we have a a large choice of of hobbies and and not to put you on the spot, run it down.
SPEAKER_02Like what all could you like run it down? What all could you do here?
SPEAKER_00Yep. You could you could build something in the wood shop. You could work on stained glass in our stained glass area. Um, you could use the pottery studio and throw on the pottery wheel. Um, you could create your own merch using our digital fabrication area with heat presses and um and you could prototype by using our computers to 3D model and then and then create a rapid prototype on on our 3D printers as well. Plus uh like an endless supply of art supplies, you know, crayons, markers, any of that. Yeah, we have that here for people to to get started.
SPEAKER_02That's fantastic. So if someone is, let's say, interested in woodworking, maybe has some basic skill, but then is looking to level up, I'm assuming then come and take a class and then potentially become like a member maker. Yes. Okay, so that's how that works.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. A lot of people come in, they take a class and then discover all the things that we have available, and maybe they do like to dabble in different arts and they see all the opportunity here. They might take a stained glass class and then then buy the materials on their own and come in and work on projects. Cool. That's fantastic.
SPEAKER_02So then, given some good planning ahead time, a family could plan an activity just for them to come here.
SPEAKER_00And that's happened before. We've had we've had folks visit the area specifically to take the pottery wheel class and the stained glass class.
SPEAKER_01We have a dark room, um, which is a little bit unusual, a little bit of an anomaly. It's hard to find one. Open studios are very hard to find. Like sometimes you can find places to take a class, but not necessarily that open studio that like you have the camera to continue on and come and develop some things yourself.
SPEAKER_02Um, what would be a good example then of a great activity that families who are visiting the Susquehanna River Valley could connect with you and then plan to come and do as part of their vacation? Any of our classes. Yeah, any of the classes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we have a good selection of instructors, classes that that any of them would work out and be able to be um, you know, translated to a family event.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So if folks are interested in um learning more about the classes, where and when can they find out about that kind of stuff? Like how do they get in contact with you?
SPEAKER_00They can uh go to our website, steam innovation labs.org. They can send us an email at info at steaminovation labs.org. Uh, they can stop by our uh uh our space, 363 Market Street Sunbury. Um and then um definitely stopping in for our first Friday is is one of the funnest ways to connect with the space for the So you've mentioned um you've both mentioned First Fridays a couple of different times.
SPEAKER_02Is that something that happens year-round or is that just seasonal?
SPEAKER_00That that's a um a monthly open house that we host on the first Friday of each month, and what we try and do is highlight a specific lab or a specific discipline and then introduce our community to it and share crafts and experiences. Uh photography was uh the focus of our last first Friday. Okay, cool. And we had a really cool time sharing pinhole cameras and cyanotypes, and I had built a uh Pepper's ghost illusion that uh we got to share as well. So there was uh a few different really fun things. Uh and then, of course, we have you know snacks and drinks and yeah, all the things.
SPEAKER_02I don't even know what a cyanotype is.
unknownWhat is that?
SPEAKER_02I pinhole camera, I remember from elementary school, right? Kind of like, but what what's a cyanotype?
SPEAKER_00Uh a cyanotype is sort of like a photogram in that you can take a piece of paper and then put objects on top of that, and then the sun will expose that piece of paper. So then you'll have basic silhouettes of the items that you've placed on top of that.
SPEAKER_02That's fantastic. Really cool. Um, what are some things that you could highlight that are upcoming, especially we're into summer, kids are off of school. Do you have any things that go above and beyond classes, camps, anything like that?
SPEAKER_01Uh, we do have a camp coming up in the next few weeks. Um, it's been prearranged, you know, um with a with a local group. I think it was a uh youth, a female youths in STEM. So, yeah, so we're doing a full day with them, and we are glad to, you know, coordinate those types of activities.
SPEAKER_02That's awesome. Um, coming up then, are there any additional workshops or theme nights that folks can look out for on your website?
SPEAKER_01I would clarify our June or July, first Friday will be on the second Friday of the month. That's not normally the case, but it's on a holiday. Yeah, yeah, that's 4th of July this year. So we're kind of we're shifting that one. So that does happen once in a while. So like on our Facebook page, we have all of our events listed there, including all our classes. Very, very cool.
SPEAKER_00And this next first Friday is gonna be chemistry themed to hopefully uh include some fireworks related chemistry, maybe. We'll see. We'll see what's what's supervision is key for that one.
SPEAKER_02What? It's all in good fun. It is all in good fun. I I I distinctly remember I did some kind of uh video with my nephews. We watched something on YouTube and then just way too quickly did the whole baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, like vinegar combination thing. We're like, yeah, we're gonna do this. And we absolutely like exploded something in my sister's kitchen. They thought it was great. Um, when my sister got home, not so much.
SPEAKER_01There was like on the ceiling, it was yeah, it was kind of crazy. It's impressive. That's impressive. Yeah, we have a Tesla coil that we bring out once a year. That's always cooling. That's a lot of fun. Okay, all right, all right.
SPEAKER_00And I guess we also are gonna have um, we're gonna do a float for the Halloween parade this year.
SPEAKER_02Yep, we always do a float for the Halloween, yeah. So now um I do have a question. So uh Megan is the founder. How did this get started? I know we're kind of going off script a little bit here, but it's just it's such a unique thing that um we do have an awesome area. There are other makerspaces in the area, but I feel like this is kind of so much more extensive.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, um, I did a lot of research. Um, I somehow got exposed to makerspaces, and honestly, I can't even tell you how I got exposed, but I started to learn that these things existed. And my husband and I like to do day trips, and so it ended up being anytime we'd go out of town, we looked to see if there was a makerspace wherever we were at. And so I got to see lots of different makerspaces and started to design like what I thought, like what would be like the best practice, what the a makerspace could be. Because um Bucknell, like Bucknell University has the makerspaces, there's other communities that have makerspaces, but a lot of times they're um not open very many hours, they're not as you know, um not as available to not as robust um and or just not available to the public. So, again, I just want to make all those things an opportunity. Like there's um, like for instance, the YMCA Art Center, which is fantastic, um does all these classes, but there's not necessarily open studios for those some same things. So we want a place where people can continue on their craft.
SPEAKER_02No, that's it, it's really, really special because I feel like hobbies are like you said earlier, Kevin, are difficult to get into because there is kind of that that initial cost. And you're like, well, what if I don't like it? To buy all like to buy a kiln?
unknownRight, exactly.
SPEAKER_02Like if you want to throw pottery on a wheel, but then you have to bake it to get it to set somehow, and like not everybody has access to a kiln.
SPEAKER_01Right, yeah, and you know, being a uh um basic member in our in the in our community, I mean you were you would take years to cover like even one of the pieces of equipment that you would have access to. It's just fantastic what we have available to folks. We have um a water jet, we have a laser cutter, we have welding equipment, we have um CNC routers, you know, all sorts of these things that like whenever I was first developing it, I'm like, I don't know if we'll be able to get that. Like that would be the cherry on top if we could get XYZ. And I feel like we we really like the kilns, we have so much available to people. It really is exciting.
SPEAKER_02That's really cool. Um, just to talk a little bit about pricing, how much is it to become a basic member? Like, what say say I come and I take a pottery class and I'm like, well, because I'll be honest, I've never made pottery before, and I'm like, whoa, this is really cool. I want to try and make like a set of mugs or something. I could come in. How much does that cost? It's yeah, go ahead, Kevin.
SPEAKER_00Um it's $40 a month for a basic membership. And that gives you access to our space from 12 to 8 daily. And uh you also get a perk to be able to bring in a plus one with you. So we don't want somebody to come in and and feel lonely or or you know, sometimes it helps to have just um someone you know with you to uh to make the space just really cool.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, lab is more inviting to start. I mean, that is a very I mean $40 is a lot of money, but for the month, that is a very affordable price point in comparison to purchasing some of these large pieces of equipment. Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Wow, how cool the larger memberships for people who are like want to be here, like more than just the 12 to 8. Um, but you know, what you know, we who are hoping the $40 is a you know fair entry point for polls.
SPEAKER_02Wow. So um how how do you encourage people who, especially if you have a maker who's like, wow, that person's actually good, how do you encourage people to step outside of their comfort zone and maybe try something new? Because that's hard. I'm glad you allow a plus one, right? Because like to come by yourself is a little daunting, but to be able to bring a buddy, that's cool. But how do you encourage people to step outside of that comfort zone?
SPEAKER_00I think just by talking to them and and we also have a phen phenomena where members, new members will come in and there is a lot to choose from. So we're here to to kind of you know talk, um, ask qualifying questions and and kind of guide you if you're new to to make best use of the space.
SPEAKER_01Okay. And we we have what we call, we're trying to create a community around making, and that is the concept. So um we have a Discord channel where folks who are members, um, our instructors can all chit-chat and talk about the space, throw in, like, hey, this is what I'm currently working on, or hey, is there anybody around who can help me learn the laser cutter this week or next week? And so people jump in, help each other out to uplift, you know, their skill set, and that's the whole concept is really to be able to help each other grow.
SPEAKER_02That's fantastic. Wow. Inclusion, community, learning, new things. I mean, I don't think that there's anything better. That's really fantastic. Well, as we wrap up, um, I want you to be able to plug whatever you want to plug right now. Um, it's a nonprofit, right? And so we well, actually, we aren't a non-profit. Oh, we're not a nonprofit. Oh, okay. Correct me then.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, okay. We're in LC, but uh, you know, we but with a lot of things that we do, I mean, it's meant to be for the community. We're not trying to make a profit here, it's meant to be for the community. Perfect. And um and we uh often participate or uh cross-promote with other local like nonprofits or or arts for-profits. Yeah, sure. Arts councils Milton or Correct, yeah, and yeah, Bluebird. Like there's lots of really great organizations out there in the same area that we're working in.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um, so then if folks are interested one more time, Kevin, how can they reach you?
SPEAKER_00Um they can come to us live here at 363 Market Street at our building and go to our website, steaminnovationlabs.org, or email us info at steaminnovationlabs.org.
SPEAKER_02I greatly appreciate your time today. This is an extraordinary space. I learned so much. I had no idea that you did all of those things. I was like, cool, jewelry making, but like I said, I I try to creep on your the events on your website all the time because I'm like, there's always something happening. We're trying.
SPEAKER_00At the end of July, we're having a um radio controlled flight day where people can come in and spend time learning how to fly a radio controlled plane um using simulators, and then the second part of the class is traveling to uh the Danville airport to actually try out a live flying exercise. That's cool. That's really cool.
SPEAKER_02Okay, that's super duper cool.
SPEAKER_00That's coordinated with the uh Susquehanna Valley modelers.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Okay, so then they're the experts. Yes. And people learn from them. Yeah. Cool. Hardly know anything about any of the things.
SPEAKER_01I can cross ditch.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh. Um, I don't know what I can do. I I can I can talk on the radio. That's a good skill. Right. Well, thank you both again. Kevin Broch is, of course, you're the program director here at Steam Innovation Labs. Megan Beck, the founder. I appreciate your time today. I'm your host, Laura Good. We're always exploring the Susquehanna River Valley. And as always, visit centralpa.org. That's the Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Bureau, where you can stream this podcast and learn all about the amazing things in the Susquehanna River Valley. Thank you both so much. Thank you very much. We appreciate it.