After months of planning, construction, and designing the Intermediate Unit 1 Fab Lab and Mobile Fab Lab are finally here and ready for you to visit! The IU1 Fab Lab and the IU1 Mobile Fab Lab are technical platforms for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education; workforce development; and business idea prototyping.
The IU1 Fab Lab is a community resource, generously funded by Chevron with additional support from the Fab Foundation and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. At the IU1 Fab Lab and Mobile Fab Lab, students will have the opportunity to explore the entire engineering design process in authentic and real world contexts by providing tools that enable them to go from concept to drawing, models to prototype, and redesign to final product. Students can experience first hand through the labs the tools needed to develop the practical and critical thinking skills they will need to be the inventors and innovators of the future.
Schedule your visit today and check out some of the great technology and machines, including:
- 3D printers
- Shop Bot
- 3D desktop mill and scanner
- Vinyl cutter
- Laser engravers
- Computers and software for design
- Programming and machine communications
Students in the Trinity Area School District had the opportunity to experience the IU1 Mobile Fab Lab for a few weeks in September, where they got to design and create projects using the 3D printers, vinyl decals, and laser engraver. IU1 just got the Mobile Fab Lab wrapped (a special thanks to the 84 Sign Shop) using designs created by students from the IU1 Educational Campus at Clark and Trinity School District. Have the mobile lab come out to your school and check out the art work, as well as all the great technology! Email Brandon Prentice for more information or to schedule a visit to your school.
Don't forget to schedule your visit to the IU1 Fab Lab located at 6353 National Pike Road, Grindstone, PA 15442. The team at IU1, Chevron, and the Fab Foundation will be working hard in the next few weeks setting up the stationary lab for the grand opening on October 28, 2015.
Follow the labs on Twitter (@IU1FabLab) and get a look at student projects, ideas, and more!