Many students may have seen the new workshop in Building 8, and were intrigued while the construction process was happening. After its completion, students could be seen peering into the windows out of curiosity to find freshly constructed guitars. Sinclair’s own guitar lab, known as the FabLab, which was previously located in Building 13, focuses on building new guitars with STEM skills.
The Clarion had an opportunity to sit down with Matt Mongin, an adjunct faculty member at Sinclair, to get to know a little bit more about the guitar lab and what it has to offer the students of Sinclair. Mongin worked in the lab as a technician, while attending Sinclair and credits the guitar lab as a huge learning experience. He noted the process as a good way to develop skills that are practical in the professional world. He now teaches one of the sections of the class this semester.
The idea to build a lab came about when Tom Singer, a professor within the Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) program, attended a guitar building workshop through Purdue University. He said he saw potential at Sinclair to essentially teach building electric guitars to students through a STEM-oriented curriculum—students could build their own guitars, while learning useful skills such as innovative thinking, creative design, as well as working in a group setting.
Additionally, many other disciplines such as physics, math and chemistry are involved in the process of completing the guitars. This is great for students who love to work with their hands, as it teaches various important concepts that are relevant to almost any field of study, while simultaneously offering a fun alternative to a typical lecture style class, according to Singer.
“All students from all majors are welcome to join the guitar building class, it has no prerequisites. Don’t be fearful about not being able to use tools or not having the ability to make something. The class is designed to provide the confidence in being able to make a musical instrument. You do not have to play guitar to be a good builder; however, it does help to hear your handy-work,” Singer said.
The course is called Guitar Manufacturing, which uses STEM Concepts and is usually offered two different slots per semester—one of them being on a Saturday. The course is three credit hours, and there are no prerequisites required in order to sign up. Students who register for this class are able to pick from seven different body styles and two different head stocks—the part of the guitar to which the tuners are usually attached.
In addition to offering a great course, Sinclair’s guitar lab also produces their own kits, which go out to high school and junior high students enrolled in STEM classes all over the nation. Over one thousand kits are produced each year at Sinclair. The kits contain rough cut bodies, necks, fretboards and fret wire. The production of these kits is part of a larger network called The National STEM Guitar Project.
This project has been featured in the National Science Foundation, and it gives younger students an opportunity to gain some hands on experience in working on projects that will be relevant to their potential career field in engineering or any other STEM subject, Mongin and Singer.
The lab is also offering free standard guitar frames. For more information visit the FabLab in Building 8, room 039.
Alex Kennedy
Reporter