Written by Megan Davis, Toaster Ambassador

On Feb. 25, 2020, the Toaster Innovation Hub opened its doors to all University of Minnesota (UMN) students and faculty. The Toaster was created to provide students with a space to innovate and create. 

Five years later, the Toaster has become a welcoming place for students to make discoveries, generate ideas, and ignite their entrepreneurial spirits. 

Partnered with the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship in the Carlson School and the University of Minnesota Libraries, the Toaster offers a variety of resources for students—not just for studying, but for creative projects as well. 

Kimberlie Moock, the current Toaster operations coordinator since 2022, said that the Toaster can be much more than just a study space for students. 

“Students commonly think of the Toaster as a dynamic and cozy space to connect with peers to work on class or personal projects or to study. We are this,” she said. “However, we want students to see the Toaster as a service and resource center where they can learn, find support, and gain skills related to innovation, entrepreneurship, and creation.” 

For one student, a senior named Zoe, the Toaster keeps her coming back because of the accessibility of the equipment. 

“I like how they have a lot of machines I would never want to buy on my own,” she said while using the embroidery machine that retails for $1,400. “I would never have access to that otherwise.” 

She is a computer science major and was using the embroidery machine to make embroidered sweatshirts for the UMN club Girls Who Code. 

The current makerspace is open and available for all University of Minnesota students to use. Everything the makerspace provides is free to use—a blessing for all majors because resources like 3-D printers, sewing materials, and art supplies can get expensive quickly. 

Students have 6,500 square feet of space to freely use the Toaster’s 3-D printers, sewing machines, VR headsets, podcasting equipment, and more. 

For the Entre Club, or the Entrepreneurship Club, the Toaster provides a welcoming space for around 11 guest speakers a semester. The speakers share their stories of entrepreneurship and their creative endeavors in their businesses.

The Entre Club was one of the first clubs to move into the Toaster and is also sponsored by the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship. 

The Entre Club has used the space since the Toaster’s creation. The current president, Teddy Bellrichard, said that the space provides easy access for students already in the club as well as for students who had never heard of the club before. 

“We’ve definitely had people come up to me personally and say, ‘I was just doing homework over here and saw that you guys had the Entre Club starting soon,’ and ask about it and sit down,” he said. 

The open layout helps students overhear information about different clubs and events that they may have never heard of before. 

Currently, the Toaster offers five different coaching opportunities by professionals in subjects such as entrepreneurship, crafting, virtual reality, media creation, and researching. 

Other workshops and clubs that call the Toaster home include the Knitting and Crochet club, the Art and Animation club, DesignU, Mend Mondays (a workshop that focuses on mending anything a student brings in), a photography workshop, and more. 

The Toaster currently sees around 800 visitors a day, who come to the space for a variety of reasons. The space thrives on inclusivity, hosting various student organizations and classes, never turning anyone away. 

A pioneer of the space, Carolyn Bishoff, is currently a sciences, agriculture, and engineering librarian, but she helped set up and run the Toaster until 2023. 

Though the Toaster had a difficult start because of the COVID-19 shutdowns, Toaster Ambassadors and staff made take-home kits for students to continue their innovation while social distancing. 

Before a space was dedicated, the makerspace was run out of a classroom on the second floor of Walter Library. Unlike today, the makerspace was not easily accessible for students to find or use for their projects. 

Bishoff said how important it was—and still is—for the makerspace to be easy to use for students of all skill levels. Toaster Ambassadors have been trained to use and educate students on how to use the sometimes complex equipment. 

“My favorite part of doing anything was teaching workshops, and cross-stitching is a passion of mine,” she said. “It felt like I was sharing my passion, sharing my weird little hobby.”

Before working at the Toaster, Bishoff was an English major and new to things like 3-D printing. But after learning how to use the equipment, she loved sharing it with other people because she proved that there are no limiting factors to what one can learn. 

“Another big goal was that it would be a space that welcomed all majors and skill levels—that you didn’t have to be a CSE major to use it,” she said. “We wanted to make sure it was a space where everyone felt like their projects were valid and their identities were welcome.” 

Since joining the Toaster as an ambassador less than two months ago, I have learned how to use equipment I never would have had access to before. I now know how to use the 3-D printers, embroidery and sewing machines, and button makers. 

If not for the Toaster and this job, I, as a journalism major, would have most likely spent my entire life without learning these skills. Now, I can help teach others and practice my skills by making my own crafts. 

Kimberlie Moock and Carolyn Bishoff both commented on how important it is for the Toaster to continue to be a welcoming space for all students. 

“Students continue to find belonging and community in a supportive and lively environment that helps them reach their potential,” she said when asked about what she hopes for the next five years of the Toaster. 

Many students use the space just to study because of its variety of spaces, which differentiate it from what is offered in the typical Walter Library study space or other study areas throughout the UMN campus. 

With whiteboards lining the walls, moveable outlets, chairs, and tables, the space becomes ideal for students to adjust to their needs. The goal of the Toaster has always been to cater to the needs of students first and foremost. 

The Toaster did not always have the same layout and equipment it does now. Over the past five years, things have been moved to make the space flow better, and new innovation resources have been added. 

Recently, the makerspace expanded to include crochet kits. Staff found that students wanted to crochet or learn how to crochet, so they acquired the materials and develop a Grab & Go kit to teach students who want to learn.

To celebrate the Toaster, the staff put together an all-day (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) event on Feb. 27. Throughout the day, there was T-shirt giveaways, bingo with prizes, and lots of toast. 

The space is always catered towards students, so if you have any suggestions or ideas for things you would like the Toaster to have or teach you how to use, comment below!