Students participated in Thomas County Central High School’s first MakerSpace Thursday and Friday, Nov. 16-17. A MakerSpace is “where people can collaborate to learn, invent and explore new things,” according to TCCHS Digital Learning Specialist Lindsay Thompson, who coordinated the activity.

She said such events are occurring in school media centers around the country, and she decided to host one “to encourage students to voluntarily participate in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) activities.” She sought advice from Thomas County Middle School’s — the first county school to offer a MakerSpace — media specialist Kathie Craven to bring her idea to life.

TCCHS has renamed its version “JacketSpace.” The inaugural event featured two roller coaster sets to build and two other design creation stations.

All activities promoted STEM initiatives at TCCHS, Thompson said. Students could participate before and after school, during lunch, or during any free class time after work was completed (with teacher permission).