'Making' in STEM education promotes project-based learning and engineering design, encourages creativity, and, in some cases, can increase the engagement of marginalized students. Our research examines the legitimacy of using 'making' to engage traditionally marginalized students using survey data indicating student excitement for and experience with 'making' prior to participation in a making-based project in introductory geoscience. Student status as Pell Grant recipients, first-generation college students, and/or transfer students were used to categorize at-risk and/or marginalized students into attribute groups based on the number of categories they fit into. Data from a survey conducted by Plenge et al. 2021 was used to compare the experience and excitement of students within these groups (n=265) with non-marginalized students (n=536). Statistical analyses were conducted using JASP and Excel to differentiate between attribute groups and the non-attribute student population. The participants' demographics in this project represented the incoming student body population, indicating possible generalizability. Preliminary findings demonstrate that transfer students consistently reported higher experience scores when compared to the other attribute groups and the non-attribute population. Transfer students had significantly more experience with "taking something apart to see how it works" than non-attribute students, with an effect size of .73. Other findings suggest variability in 'making' experience in other attribute groups compared to the non-attribute population. Our interpretation of the observed variation in 'making' experiences in these attribute groups is informed by a theoretical framework categorizing all 'making' into necessity, creative, and academic types. We infer that higher experience scores reported by transfer students are illustrative of the diverse lived experiences of students with additional barriers that shape their interest in, experience with, and perceptions towards making. This research aims to contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) discourse in geoscience education by connecting academic making with student experiences and excitement.