OPALL is a community of learners at Georgia Tech who strive to improve their mastery of science & engineering, particularly regarding polymers. OPALL operates like a maker space—learners at all levels help each other—but the focus is not necessarily on making polymers. Like The Materials Innovation and Learning Laboratory, OPALL is a Make-and-Measure space. OPALL places top-drawer equipment, including delicate instruments, in the hands of students. It is the only Make-and-Measure space at Georgia Tech that permits and encourages chemically intensive activities. Anyone with a GT affiliation, regardless of home department, major, or role within the university, is welcome to train (and learn to train others) at OPALL at no cost. Typical activities include:

• Curiosity-driven discovery of polymers and their properties.
• Parallel training: OPALL Learning Assistants help students enrolled in “lecture-only” courses to complete a hands-on project assigned by their professor.
• Polymer synthesis and characterization in support of Design courses.
• Support for entrepreneurs (e.g., Create-X, TiGER, independent programs).
• Workshops for industrial partners.

The Open Polymer Active Learning Laboratory (OPALL) is an open access student maker space for polymer sciences under the School of Materials at Georgia Tech. OPALL provides a safe area for students to gain first-hand experience about polymer science, all the way from synthesis to characterization. OPALL can provide students with valuable training for a laboratory setting and serves as a working space for projects, courses, and research. OPALL is open to all GT students, staff, and faculty during our working hours.