Brenda Lane, co-owner of eXL Learning Center at Lowry, which will open a spinoff called MindCraft in the Stanley Marketplace, helps some of her students studying electrical conductivity by using the lead from a pencil- the dots in the foreground – and fruits that can be part of a circuit that will play a short tune on the computer.
“Bob Stanley would approve of our program and our spirit of innovation occupying his building,” says Brenda Lane, co-owner of MindCraft, a new “maker space” for kids and adults to invent and explore. Bob Stanley designed his inventions, most notably military aircraft ejection seats, in the building that will become Stanley Marketplace.
MindCraft, co-owned by Lane and Adriana Santacoloma, will be a do-it-yourself space for people to create whatever they can think up, using traditional and high-tech tools including 3-D printers, scanners, laser cutters, glass-fusing kilns and sewing machines that will weave LED lights into fabrics. “We create creators,” Lane said.
MindCraft is a spin-off of Lane and Santacoloma’s tutoring center in Lowry, eXL Learning, which already offers high-tech summer camps. “Our programs support kids’ ability to think creatively and problem-solve,” said Lane. “Helping them get up to speed in coding and programming assists them through school and into their careers.”
Students will receive hands-on instruction from experts, including electrical and mechanical engineers and fabricators, in MindCraft’s classroom. Classes and lab time will be open to all ages. “Students can work in areas like robotics, 3-D animation, even jewelry design and production,” Lane said.
MindCraft will occupy 1,700 square feet on the Stanley’s mezzanine level. The space will accommodate a classroom, lab and retail area. “We’ll keep the industrial look of the space,” Lane said. “It will look like grandpa’s clean, organized garage.”
Memberships in MindCraft will run from $50 to $100 per month.
For more information, see exllearning.com or call 303.364.9581.
