The grand opening of the Rooks|Sarnicola Entrepreneur Institute and the Lakeshore Fab Lab at 388 W. Clay in the heart of downtown Muskegon is set for Friday, June 1, when the public is invited to attend a noontime ceremony.
Doors open at 11 a.m. and the event begins at noon in Muskegon Community College’s Sturrus Technology Center, which encompasses both the Rooks|Sarnicola Entrepreneur Institute and the Lakeshore Fab Lab.
David Stradal, chair of the MCC Business Department and the Entrepreneurial Studies Program, will welcome the guests. Speakers include MCC Provost and Executive Vice President John Selmon, City of Muskegon Mayor Steve Gawron, and Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce President Cindy Larson.
Also speaking will be:
- Entrepreneur Richard Kraft, MCC Class of 1949, who along with his wife, Ann, generously donated a Rapid Prototype Center in the Lakeshore Fab Lab that contains 12 CAD stations, Stratasys high and midrange 3D printers, and a 3D scanner.
- Jon Rooks, who donated the former Masonic Temple building to MCC; and
- Nick Sarnicola, an entrepreneur with West Michigan ties who, along with his wife, Ashley, endowed an annual cash prize to recognize and foster entrepreneurial excellence at the Institute.
MCC President Dale K. Nesbary, who will be in Europe during the grand opening, will offer live closing remarks via Skype.
Following the formal ribbon cutting ceremonies, the public will be invited to tour the facilities and view informative videos.
Lakeshore Fab Lab
The Lakeshore Fab Lab is a state-of-the-art entrepreneurial hub located in the heart of downtown Muskegon. Supported and managed by Muskegon Community College, the Lakeshore Fab Lab empowers people of all ages to learn, dream, design, and build their ideas.
The facility houses more than $500,000 worth of equipment in a space where inventors can invent, businesses can prototype, and children can learn and gain hands on experience with STEM-based projects.
Membership is open to anyone – students, entrepreneurs, local businesses, museums, clubs, etc. – from anywhere. Members will have access to the worldwide Fab Lab network, a proposed on-site entrepreneur store to sell their products or services on a consignment basis, and future speakers and seminars.
Members can put their ideas into action with the Lakeshore Fab Lab’s various machines, which include 3-D printing, laser etching, robotics, metal milling, large format vinyl printing, t-shirt hot press, digital scanning, plasma water table cutting, and routing.
The Lakeshore Fab Lab is situated within MCC’s Rooks|Sarnicola Entrepreneur Institute and is physically connected to the college’s recently opened Sturrus Technology Center, home to cutting-edge applied technology classrooms and laboratories for automation, robotics, welding, electrical, foundry, alternative energy, engineering and CAD.
To schedule a tour or for more information about the Lakeshore Fab Lab, contact Chris Kaminsky at (231) 777-0212 or christopher.kaminsky@muskegoncc.edu.