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UC Makerspace Moves to the Mall

UC Makerspace and Imagine Foundry are leveling up into a bigger, more visible home so more people can make, learn, launch businesses, and build community. We’ve got the space. Now we’ve gotta build it out.

Whats happening
We're moving into the Cookeville Mall.

UC Makerspace is expanding into a new mall space to create a larger, easier-to-find home for makers, creators, families, and small businesses across the Upper Cumberland.

And we’re not moving alone.

Imagine Foundry is coming with us too as the children’s museum side of the facility. That means the new mall home becomes a true multi-zone “come hang out and learn something” destination for all ages.

HELP US TURN THIS INTO SOMETHING AMAZING!

Why this move to the mall matters

This move makes the mission visible.

A mall location gives us something we can’t get anywhere else: access, visibility, and room to grow.

  • More people will discover us naturally because they’re already at one of our neighbors like Planet Fitness, Central City Church or Thrive.

  • Families can make a whole day of it with a kids’ museum experience and hands-on maker spaces in the same facility

  • Programs can run simultaneously without tripping over each other

  • More partnerships become possible because we’re in a central, high-traffic location

  • More economic impact locally through skill-building, entrepreneurship, and workforce development

This isn’t just a move. It’s a major step toward making creative opportunity a normal part of life in Cookeville.

What We're Building

This space becomes two powerful things under one roof.

UC Makerspace is the hands-on build, learn, fix, and create side for teens and adults (and families in programs).

Imagine Foundry is the children’s museum side designed to spark curiosity, play-based learning, and big “aha” moments for kids.

Together, the facility becomes a place where:

  • kids explore and learn through play

  • teens discover real tools and real skills

  • adults build projects, learn trades, and launch ideas

  • families do meaningful stuff together, not just stare at screens in the same room

This move lets us build something Cookeville doesn’t really have right now: a place where families can walk in on a normal Tuesday and find hands-on learning for kids and real build space for everyone else, all in one stop. Imagine Foundry and UC Makerspace reinforce each other, so a child’s “Whoa, that’s cool” moment can grow into “I can actually make this,” and eventually into skills, confidence, and opportunities that stick around long after they leave the mall.

Honored to Be Partnered With or Supported By:

Ways You Can Help

Donate Any Amount

Help us get the doors open faster.

Every dollar goes straight into turning an empty mall space into a working UC Makerspace + Imagine Foundry facility. Build-out isn’t glamorous, but it’s what makes the lights turn on, the doors swing open, and the community start using the space.

Sponsor Something Tangible

Put your name (or company) on the build.

Want to fund a specific piece of the new facility? You can sponsor items like a workbench, a tool zone, a classroom area, or a hands-on exhibit element in Imagine Foundry. It’s a concrete way to say, “I helped build this,” because you literally did.

Give In-Kind Support

Materials, labor, services, or gear.

If you’re a contractor, supplier, tradesperson, or you’ve got access to materials, we can put that help to work immediately. Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, framing, drywall, flooring, paint, fixtures, storage, fabrication, installs, and equipment all move the project forward fast.

Spread the Word

Sharing on socials still counts as helping.

Want to fund a specific piece of the new facility? You can sponsor items like a workbench, a tool zone, a classroom area, or a hands-on exhibit element in Imagine Foundry. It’s a concrete way to say, “I helped build this,” because you literally did.

What donations actually pay for

Your donation turns an empty mall space into a functioning public facility.

This is the practical part. Donations help cover build-out costs like:

  • Walls, electrical, lighting, plumbing
  • Permits, inspections, code compliance
  • Flooring and finishes that can handle real use
  • Ventilation and safety systems
  • Classroom build-out and flexible learning spaces
  • Storage, shelving, and work surfaces
  • Equipment installation and moving logistics
  • Signage, accessibility improvements, and wayfinding

 

In other words: the unglamorous but essential stuff that turns “a space” into “a place that works.”