Hamilton County Schools in Chattanooga, TN has the World's Largest Fab Lab Network with 43 eLabs in HCS schools. Labs serve over 22K students, and over 300+ teachers use eLabs daily. These labs, a collaborative effort supported by Volkswagen Group of America, PEF, and Hamilton County Schools, are a model for modern education. These labs, a collaborative effort supported by Volkswagen Group of America, PEF, and Hamilton County Schools, are a model for modern education.

VW eLabs are intentionally designed to reflect and support the unique vision and culture of each individual school. Fully integrated into the school day, these labs offer students powerful opportunities for hands-on, meaningful learning experiences. With access to advanced technology, students are empowered to pursue personalized learning by working on projects aligned with their interests and preferred ways of learning.

Instead of narrowly preparing students for specific career paths through isolated technical skills (such as welding or robotics), VW eLabs take a well-rounded approach. The focus is on cultivating essential lifelong skills like critical thinking, creative problem solving, collaboration, and communication.

As students design and build real-world solutions using the tools in the lab, they also gain the flexibility and resilience needed to succeed in a fast-changing world. In short, VW eLabs are helping students build the most important skill of all—learning how to learn.