By Brad King, Anniversary Exhibits and Publishing Managing Editor
On Sept. 9, more than 125 students gathered in IDeATe Studio for Hands-On: Pizza & Pennant Making, kicking off the University Archives' 125th Anniversary exhibit, “Room to Imagine.” Participants traded screens for fabric, glue guns, and plenty of pizza, diving into the tactile joy of creating colorful banners inspired by the vintage pennants, which are some of Crystal Johnson's favorite pieces in the archives.
"My goal for the event was to give students a chance to take a break, make something with their hands, and connect with CMU's history in a fun, low-key way," said Johnson, community collections processing archivist. This Hands-On event introduced the anniversary exhibit that transformed an everyday dorm room into a showcase of CMU innovations, from the iPhone interface to Toy Story's animation, from Duolingo to the algorithms securing our online communications. "At its core, the goal of our Hands-On events is to give people the opportunity to make something while connecting with each other socially," said Erin Swift, events manager for outreach and engagement.
