Hampshire College

The Lemelson Center's courses use applied design as the teaching medium, and include areas such as mechanical design, construction, and universal design. Courses are experiential, including student participation in prototype construction, with some of this student-created equipment placed into the hands of the public for real-world use. In addition to semester-long academic courses, the Lemelson Center offers co-curricular courses, workshops, and seminars. These include introductory workshops, called trainings, in a wide variety of design and fabrication skills. The trainings, which include introductory and advanced sessions, are intended to give students the skills necessary to design and fabricate assistive technology and universal design prototypes and other types of innovative projects.

HCLC is part of Hampshire College's School for Interdisciplinary Arts. At the core of this school is the assumption that the study of art should be grounded in practice and process. The school's three central tenets are interdisciplinarity; art and social action; and art and technology. The Lemelson Center embodies all three of these tenets by incorporating an interdisciplinary approach to the process of design; by addressing the impact of design on social needs; and by specifically investigating the design and the process of discovery that can greatly affect technology.

Lemelson Center Spring 2010 Course Offerings

For course descriptions continue below. Additionally, further down is a more comprehensive list of course title offered in the past several years.

Design Fundamentals: This is an introductory level design class that will begin with a series of guided activities and culminate in a final independent project. Students will become familiar with a range of basic design tools and skills, such as drawing, model-making, and prototyping in materials such as cardboard, metal and plastic. We will also consider aesthetics, manufacturability, and usability of the objects we create. Throughout the course students will work towards improving visual communication skills and the ability to convey ideas.

Electronics and Assistive Technology: This course will familiarize the student with some of the basic techniques of electronic design and fabrication by exploring how those techniques can be used to create assistive devices. The course will focus on developing these techniques by working on a number of projects inspired by outside partner groups and individuals. Students are encouraged to build on pre-existing devices as well as design solutions from scratch. This will be a project-based course; the majority of class time will be spent experimenting and building. Prior experience with electronics is not required, but the student should be comfortable using basic hand tools. Each student will be supplied with a course kit which will include all the necessary tools as well as a variety of common and useful electrical components.

Women's Design and Fabrication: This course will introduce students through experiential means to the basic fabrication process available in the Lemelson Center. Students will work on a variety of hands-on projects, gaining experience with as many different fabrication skills as time allows. In addition, we will cover basic elements of design and project planning; how built objects relate to the artificial and natural environment; and consider the broader impact design has on society. Upon completion of the course, participants will have start-to-finish experience with several projects, a working knowledge of several types of fabrication processes, and will be expected to have the foundational skills and knowledge in design and fabrication necessary to complete more advanced design and art projects.

Appropriate Technology in the World: This course will look at the issues involved with design and fabrication in situations where there are limited resources. Students will engage in the hands-on study and design of technologies considered appropriate for less developed and small-scale local economies. Topics will include water quality; human-powered cargo transportation; energy production; food storage and preparation; and wheelchair technologies. We will consider factors that make for successful adoption and widespread use of appropriate technologies.

Social Entrepreneurship Part II: This year-long course will explore the values, philosophies, and motivations (the "why") for starting a social enterprise, and through experiential means, investigate the strategies and tactics (the "what" and "how") of social entrepreneurship. The bulk of the first semester will be devoted to understanding the "why" through case studies, readings, field trips, and speakers with the aim of creating a concept for your own social enterprise. The second semester of the course will largely be dedicated to the "what" and "how" of social enterprise creation and will be guided by the development of an enterprise concept plan for your social entity. Additional means of exploring the "what" and "how" will be through doing a project with a local social enterprise and creating promotional and presentation materials for your enterprise. This course is geared toward students who have a strong interest in social enterprise creation and, ideally, some experience with it.



Recent Applied Design Courses Offered:
Advanced Blacksmithing
Animals, Robots, and Applied Design
Appropriate Technology in the World
Art and Energy: Solar Music and Beyond
Basic Blacksmithing
Bicycle Ambulance Building Workshop 
Bicycle Design and Beyond
Bicycle Frame Design and Fabrication
Circuit Bending
Creative Electronics
Design Conspiracy Student Group
Design For the Greater Good
Design Fundamentals
Electronics and Assistive Technology
Fabrication Shop Trainings
Fabrication Skills
Introduction to C.A.D. (Computer-Aided Design)
Introduction to Soft Goods
Look Ma, No Hands
Machine Shop Instruction
Model Making
Soft Goods Design
Social Entrepreneurship
Social Entrepreneurship: Starting Your Own Socially Responsible Enterprise
Stained Glass Techniques Workshop
Technosalvation
The Business of Change: Social Action Through Entrepreneurship
Women's Fabrication Skills