Bucks IU Fab Lab awarded $450,000 PAsmart Grant for mobile Fab Lab expansion

Mobile Fab Lab Coordinator Matthew Hayden introduces Finch robots to the class and is showing them how they will be able to code the robots to move. Photo Credit: Pennridge School District

The Bucks County Intermediate Unit (Bucks IU) Fab Lab is the proud recipient of a $450,000 PAsmart Innovation Grant to expand its incredibly successful Mobile Fab Lab program. PAsmart grants are intended to expand access to computer science and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education for learners across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This grant is an important step in making hands-on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) and digital fabrication experiences accessible to every elementary school in Bucks County, as well as select schools in the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit region. Only seventeen Innovation grants were awarded out of over one hundred applicants from around the state of Pennsylvania.

The Mobile Fab Lab is a large van that carries computer science and digital fabrication equipment, such as 3D printers, a laser cutter and a variety of robots, to schools for one-week residencies. Each school residency is led by a highly specialized teacher. The PAsmart grant will provide a new van, all the necessary equipment and staffing for one full year of programming.

The immediate impact of this grant will be significant, enabling the Mobile Fab Lab to expand its reach from 12,000 to 30,000 students.

In the long term, the grant will fund the development of a comprehensive “playbook” by Fab Lab staff. This guide will provide a replicable model for organizations interested in implementing their own Mobile Fab Lab program, expanding access to STEAM education beyond Bucks County.

Dr. Lindsey Sides, Bucks IU supervisor of STEAM education, stated, “We are incredibly proud of the success of our first Mobile Fab Lab that is now wrapping up its fifth year of operation and continues to be in high demand, filling its calendar of residency weeks every year! It is due to this amazing success, and the support of a new PAsmart Grant, that we are now able to add and equip another Mobile Fab Lab to serve schools in Bucks County and beyond.”

By delivering STEAM experiences directly to students, the Mobile Fab Lab fosters early interest in STEAM and Career and Technical Education (CTE) fields. Students engage in hands-on, project-based learning with advanced technologies such as 3D printers, laser cutters and robotics, gaining exposure to vital skills.

This new grant will fully fund a third Mobile Fab Lab, increasing the program’s student reach by 150%. The first MFL, funded by a previous PAsmart Grant, launched in September 2019 for Bucks County school districts. A second van, introduced in 2023, serves nonpublic schools in the region. Demand for MFL residencies remains high, with bookings opening in April and typically filling up before the end of the current school year.

Kirston Moore, STEM/gifted support teacher at West Rockhill Elementary in the Pennridge School District, loves the educational options the Mobile Fab Lab brings her students. “The Fab Lab visit enhances our already established elementary STEM program by introducing the students to fabrication machines and robots that we currently do not use in the STEM program. Students get to interact with 3D printers and the design software, laser engravers, Finch robots, Sphero Indi robots, 3D doodler pens and button makers. They get to apply the skills they are learning in the STEM program to these new technologies as they use them to complete activities. Students also get to create, make and take their projects with them after learning about the new tool and technique. This was the second year that West Rockhill Elementary School participated in the Mobile Fab Lab program and shouts of joy spread through the hallways when students found out they were about to have a Fab Lab day in the STEM room.”

By inspiring creative problem-solving and technological exploration from an early age, the Bucks IU Fab Lab program is cultivating a STEAM pipeline. It aims to prepare students for future academic and career opportunities while supporting regional economic development and workforce readiness.

Ronnie Leeds, a Pennridge School District elementary student, said, “Fab Lab and STEM teach me how I can do things like coding with robots and using conditionals on scratch to create things and make things happen. It’s lot of fun!” And her Fab Lab partner, Isabella Conicelli, agreed, “My favorite part of Fab Lab was coding with the robot cars to create different paths for them to follow. I also really enjoyed programming the tank robots to drive around the room and run over things.”

The Bucks IU Fab Lab team is immensely grateful for this PAsmart Grant and the opportunity it provides to expand the reach of STEAM education in Bucks County and beyond.