51����

The gallery’s latest exhibit, “Draining the Swamp: An Environmental History of Wetlands on the Kent Campus,” features decades of maps and newspaper clippings that tell the story of the once heavily forested campus. The centerpiece is a scaled down 3D model of the campus’ geography, including drained and preserved wetlands. 

A fungus that spent a week inside a grow tent has taken over the MuseLab. This isn’t the start of a science fiction novel, or an episode of “The Last of Us,” it’s “Party of One: Future Fungal Furniture.” The exhibit is the first publicly shared experiment of Britta Bielak’s research on the potential that mycelium, the root-like structure of a fungus, has as a regenerative and structural building material.

Valle’s “Exploring 3D Print Waste in Fashion” is a graduate student thesis that seeks to challenge industry standards. Elegant garments dot the room as part of a timeline that takes the viewer on a journey of initial curiosity to full-scale application of 3D print waste in textile design and co-creation.

Design Innovation welcomes its 1,000th collaborator, reaching the milestone in just under two years.

Connor Ruppelt, a senior sculpture major at 51����, wanted to step outside his comfort zone on his latest project and explore new technologies for sculpture fabrication – thanks to the facilities and expertise available at the Design Innovation Hub he was able to do just that.

The Design Innovation (DI) collaborator network will grow this semester as the DI Hub and its makerspaces open to the public through a new community membership. 

Rapids Grant will bolster workforce development with future 51���� graduates filling key shortages in industries across Ohio.

Excitement buzzed from the MuseLab in 51����’s Design Innovation Hub as students learned firsthand about sustainability opportunities in the fashion industry.  

Workshop allowed students to use laser engraving tools on denim for unique projects.