Our Impact: Mission Spotlight
Designing Their Own Makerspace
Funded by Otter Products employees through the G3 Challenge, Kruse fourth graders worked with community partner Salt Design to imagine — and help build — their school's new makerspace.
In 2018, Otter Products employees raised money for the Innovation Station Fund during the G3 Challenge, our annual employee fundraising event. Their generosity provided a grant to Kruse Elementary to transform an empty space into a hands-on Innovation Lab makerspace.
From the very first brainstorm, students were the stakeholders. We connected Kruse with community partner Salt Design, who led fourth graders through a real design charrette. Then, on closed2open, Otter Products employees rolled up their sleeves — building a Lego wall, painting, and listening as students pitched their design ideas.
The result is more than a room. It’s a space that sparks problem-solving through innovation — and proof that when a community invests its time, talent, and treasure, kids see what’s possible.