When: Friday, May 4
Where: Making, Innovating and Learning Laboratory (M.I.L.L.)
Price: Free admission for everyone
There’s a disturbance in the forces of stress and schoolwork — the University of Idaho Making, Innovating and Learning Laboratory (M.I.L.L.) is hosting a Star Wars day celebration Friday to bring geekiness and fun to the end of dead week.
Star Wars day, May 4, is a tribute to the film franchise’s iconic salutation “may the Force be with you.”
“We figured it’s a really popular internet event, and we might as well bring it to the M.I.L.L. and help students de-stress,” M.I.L.L. manager Courtney Pace said.
Pace and her fellow M.I.L.L. staff will guide attending students through Star Wars themed crafts, while providing a space outside the nerves that come with dead week and finals.
“The idea is to offer some kind of haven from the upcoming finals,” Pace said. “It’s a really casual environment.”
While dead week is often filled with hitting the books, the May the Fourth event is for students who would rather hit their books with a lightsaber instead.
The event will feature Star Wars related virtual reality (VR) games, Star Wars fan videos streaming from YouTube and maker-space crafts and projects in tribute to a “galaxy far, far away.”
M.I.L.L. staff has also been hard at work this week preparing giveaways for the event, including “rebel alliance” and “empire” vinyl stickers and 3D printed keychains.
“If it all becomes too much, you can walk in and take a break,” Pace said.
Students are able to walk in any time between their classes or study groups from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Attending the event is not limited to students, and the upcoming activities have been heavily promoted on the M.I.L.L.’s social media accounts.
“It’s open to everyone,” Pace said. “I hope for a community turn-out.”
Reference Librarian Rochelle Smith said she’s “more of a trekkie” but is still looking forward to the May the Fourth event. Smith has attended M.I.L.L. functions throughout the year, including 3D printing workshops and a Valentine’s Day card making event. Smith even hosted her own M.I.L.L. event where she offered expertise in the field of mending.
“(The mending workshop) was very relaxed,” Smith said.
She said she enjoys the relaxed atmosphere of the M.I.L.L. and the chance to focus on maker activities that provide a contrast to the information-driven atmosphere of the rest of the library.
“It’s a nice balance to how we spend our time these days,” Smith said. “People really enjoy the chance to work on something hands-on.”
Even “trekkies” will be able appreciate the fusion of the futuristic Star Wars technology with today’s 3D printers and VR glasses.
Smith said she hopes the Star Wars event will offer some rest from the stress of finals season to students by stimulating imaginations and focusing minds on creative tasks, giving students the chance “to play around with and connect little hands-on things with the larger world of technology and information.”
Beth Hoots can be reached at [email protected]