About MakeRoom

What Is MakeRoom?

MakeRoom is a maker space located in suburban Miramar, Wellington. Through our Stem Club education programme It is a place where kids can create, invent and learn alongside experienced makers.

Miramar HQ Spaces

Our Miramar HQ is made up of three key spaces. The Studio, The Green Room and The Workshop.

The Studio

The studio is our main space and where our Miramar Stem Club sessions happen. We also refer to this space as the ‘clean room’. It is a comfortable space for anything that doesn’t create a lot of noise and dust. Electronics, Sewing, Robotics, 3D Printing, Computers - all that stuff happens in here. There is a lot of natural light and facilities include a heat pump and bathroom.

The Green Room

The Green Room is our newest space, built to cater to our growing waitlist. It taught its first classes in Term Two 2019. It is a second comfortable 'clean room' with a full set of computers, excellent lighting and large sliding doors that open out to the garden.

The Workshop

The workshop is where all the woodworking and painting projects happen. It is well equipped and home to all the power tools. Our big equipment includes a CNC machine, table saw, drop saw, scroll saw, drill press, belt/disc sander, planer, router and more. Safety equipment (PPE) such as ear muffs, eye protection and dust masks are provided when required. We also have full dust extraction.

Our People

Nigel Scott (he/him) - Founder [Evil Overlord]

Nigel Scott is the Head Maker behind MakeRoom. He has a wide range of experience across both technical and creative disciplines. His first degree was in computer science after which he studied Technical Theatre Production at Toi Whakaari: The New Zealand Drama School. His relationship with the Drama School has continued throughout his career and he has taught workshops in sound design as part of their technical programme for over 20 years. In 2006 he received their first ever award for graduate excellence.

Nigel has also been heavily employed in the Wellington film industry. He was a music editor for “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy as well as “King Kong”, “District 9”, “The Lovely Bones” and the “Hobbit” trilogy. All of this work was completed at Park Road Post Production where he worked from 2006 until 2018. He has been nominated 4 times for the Hollywood based “Motion Picture Sound Editor” award for Music Editing in a Feature Film.

In addition to his teaching work at the NZ Drama School, Nigel has taught a variety of subjects to many different age groups for over 25 years, both around New Zealand and overseas. His work at Park Road Post has also seen him running specialist workshops at the New Zealand School of Music. His interest in STEM and making has come about through having two young boys that love working with their hands using tools from the digital age.

“When I was 9 my family spent a year in Denmark. I went to a Danish school and experienced a completely different style of learning to what I was used to in NZ. Out the back of a school was a community centre called Club West - they had various spaces devoted to different activities - Sewing, Engineering, Cooking and Electronics. I spent hours in that Electronics room making whatever I could get my hands on. Down the road was the local used appliances recycling centre - which I promptly renamed the 'salvage yard'. Most weekends I’d bike over there and pick through the new offerings collecting circuit boards, motors, wire - anything I thought might be useful for my constructions. At the end of the year we had to pack up and head back to NZ. I had to filter my sizeable collection down to a handful of precious items - it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do as a child.”