Dates: September 11 & 12, 2025
Time: 3:00–6:00 PM each day
Location:
The Sandbox Makerspace
Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science & Engineering
8125 Paint Branch Dr., College Park, MD 20742
Cost: Free and open to the public

Soft Souls Foundry @Sandbox is a two-day, beginner-friendly makerspace workshop presented during NextNOW Fest 2025 at the University of Maryland. This open lab invites participants to explore both digital and physical fabrication processes, offering hands-on access to 3D modeling, 3D printing, digital knitting, laser etching, and machine cutting.

Visitors move through the Sandbox at their own pace, trying out tools, experimenting with creative techniques, and learning how acts of making can help build community, intellectual curiosity, and personal expression. The lab highlights how the arts and humanities intersect with technology, encouraging participants to imagine new approaches to storytelling, identity, and design.

One of the stations focuses on digital sculpting and fabrication, where participants work with digital clay tools, shape small forms, and see how virtual designs transition into physical objects through live printing demonstrations. The workshop emphasizes exploration, accessibility, and play, welcoming participants with or without prior experience.

A collaboration between AADHum, NarraSpaceXR, MITH, campus artists, and the Soft Souls Foundry @Sandbox team, the workshop is part of the broader cc:self series—hands-on sessions centered on holistic approaches to crafting, coding, and creative identity.