The Walsh Makerspace is now open in a 7,200-acre neighborhood in west Fort Worth, bringing 21st-century technology and tools to its residents and to the public.

The 2,000-square-foot makerspace includes a woodshop, computer design software and 3D printers, a laser cutter, robotics lab, and an electronics lab. It also features kid-friendly methods to create and learn with their hands, including a giant Lego Wall and Makey Makey Invention Kit, according to a Walsh release.

“The Walsh Makerspace is a great win for the greater Fort Worth community and will be a space that harnesses creative talent as people dream up businesses or the next big idea.”

Scott Sumner

The makerspace will be managed by Scott Sumner, a founding member of Dallas Makerspace. Prior to joining Walsh, Sumner served as assistant manager of the Charlie Noble Planetarium at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.

“The Walsh Makerspace is a great win for the greater Fort Worth community and will be a space that harnesses creative talent as people dream up businesses or the next big idea,” Sumner said in the release.

Residents of the Walsh neighborhood have access to the makerspace as a community amenity, developers said, while nonresidents can buy memberships for $30 per month or $300 per year.

Additional members of the same household can be added to the membership for $10 per month or $100 per year each.

On Saturday, March 24, Walsh will host a Backyard BBQ event, that will include an opportunity for people to test their skills and creativity at the Walsh Makerspace.

[Photo by Richard W. Rodriguez]

WALSH MAKERSPACE IS WITHIN THE ALEDO ISD

The makerspace will offer classes on basic and advanced operation of its tools and on specific projects during the spring. The Walsh Makerspace also plans to host regular programs for local student groups, including those from the Aledo ISD.

Mark Hatch, a pioneer in the maker movement, consulted with Walsh on the makerspace’s design and programming.

“One of Mark Hatch’s key contributions as a consultant on this project was to think about how the makerspace movement could really translate into a neighborhood feel,” Walsh spokesperson Rebecca Reap told Dallas Innovates. “Most makerspaces you see are either fully focused on children and kid-friendly program, or solely as a workshop for adults. With Mark’s help, we we’re able to bridge the gap in both the structural design of the workshop, the programming, the tools, and equipment, etc., to make sure that makers of all ages could learn and thrive together.”

Reap said that the response of community has been great.

“Every weekend in March, residents and non-residents have come out to see the Walsh Makerspace first-hand,” she said. “It’s exciting to see kids come into a space and realize that they can learn to build something with their own two hands that they can take home, use, and be proud of.”

“It’s exciting to see kids come into a space and realize that they can learn to build something with their own two hands that they can take home, use and be proud of.”

Rebecca Reap

She said the makerspace has a unifiying effect.

“We’ve also been touched by how the makerspace is bringing families together,” Reap said. “Just last week, a grandfather and his grandson stopped by to talk with our onsite making expert, Scott Sumner, about using the makerspace to rebuild a car together. Those are exactly the kind of moments that inspired us to create Walsh around a makerspace.”

Walsh is being developed by Dallas-based Republic Property Group in collaboration with the Walsh family, which still resides in the area of the development. It is located west of downtown Fort Worth where Interstates 20 and 30 merge and Republic Property Group said it is the largest development underway in the U.S. within 12 minutes of a major city center.

Once completed, the development will feature more than 15,000 homes and a community of 50,000 residents. While Walsh is located in the city limits of Fort Worth, its homes are within the Aledo ISD.