By Whitney Harder

With new renovations completed over the 2014-15 winter break, the UK Mathskeller unveiled its new look at an open house on Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - hosted by the Department of Mathematics and College of Arts and Sciences, in room 63 in the basement of the White Hall Classroom Building.

Opened in 2001 with 20 computers and a large printing budget, the Mathskeller, a computing and mathematics learning center managed by the Department of Mathematics and the Mathematical Sciences Computing Facility, was established to implement a technology-assisted instructional model. Fourteen years later, the center is home to only four computers, printers aren't used nearly as much, and the facility looks nothing like a basement classroom.

Instead, the center resembles a modern, collective learning space. And while there may be fewer wires and less printing, technology still has a leading role at the center. Today's students, at least UK students utilizing the revitalized Mathskeller, are also taking advantage of the multiple mobile workspaces, bright LED-lit atmosphere, comfortable seating, tutors and chalkboard-lined walls. The renovated Mathskeller still features a kitchenette and group study or meeting room, and has added more storage, new carpet, additional study tables by removing a closet, and even a new computerized sign-in method.

Photos by Celia Shoffner and Brian Connors Manke