Lake Land College's Innovation Lab creating makers in STEM

MATTOON, Ill. (WAND) — Scott Rhine has been teaching courses in the Innovation Lab at Lake Land College for years, and each semester brings something new.

Rhine says he aims for students to come as consumers but to leave as makers.

“It uses an Arduino to do some basic electronics. We also have 3D printing, and VR, and robotics, and just about anything else that the student wants to get into," said Rhine.

Students like Amanda Hinmerichs say it's easier to succeed in a course like this because it comes with a supportive teacher.

“If he’s involved in it, it’s definitely worth taking. He’s amazing, over the top. It’s just all of these really cool things. We’re basically just using our own innovation as the class is named to create basically limitless projects,” said Hinmerichs.

Rhine pushes his students to really think outside of the box. They can even invent items that don't even exist yet.

“That’s the best question. If we’re somewhere and I’m doing something they’re like 'where’d you buy that?' I made it. The students get to say that at the open house they say this didn’t exist before, this is it. There’s one of these on the planet and I have it, I built it,” said Rhine.