Fab Lab

Fab Lab?? What is Fab Lab?  I've received these questions quite a bit in the last few months.  And to be honest, I've asked them, too.  Dunwoody college in Minneapolis, MN, defines their "Fabrication" Lab as place to "create products, prototypes, and projects by using computer aided design tools, and then producing them in cardboard, plywood, plastic, or other materials." Mahtomedi High School says it's "a place where students can make anything."  And in Pine Island, I had the pleasure of observing Mr. Johnson's Innovative Arts class (Fab Lab) where he says the goal of the class is to become "innovative creators."

Fab Lab will use STEM principles.  Creations will be Scientific in approach. Technology will serve as a tool to solve problems or reach a goal.  Students will Engineer to design, test, and solve through creation of products or processes, and use Mathematics to help quantify, comprehend, and evaluate a problem.

I envision a community of learners and creators who will be supportive of each other. I see robots, computers, carboard, legos, and 3D printers. I imagine a lab as a place where trying and failing, innovating, and trying and failing again will be deemed a success. Here are some photos of the 2024-25 Fab Lab Classroom activities: