The Bucks IU Celebrates the Grand Opening
of the New Fab Lab Center

Posted onAuthorRobyn Gross

The Bucks County Intermediate Unit (Bucks IU) is very excit­ed to open a learn­ing cen­ter designed and ded­i­cat­ed to sup­port the grow­ing inter­est in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) activ­i­ties in Bucks County. The Fab Lab (Fabrication Laboratory) Center is a bright, invit­ing space cen­tral­ly locat­ed at One Ivybrook Blvd., Suite 150, in Warminster PA.  Events and pro­grams being offered use inter­ac­tive, hands-on expe­ri­ences with advanced tech­nol­o­gy equip­ment and com­put­er sci­ence pro­grams that engage atten­dees of all ages with end­less oppor­tu­ni­ties of fun and enjoy­able learn­ing activities.

“We are very excit­ed to be bring­ing STEAM pro­grams and activ­i­ties to the broad­er Bucks County com­mu­ni­ty with the Bucks IU’s Fab Lab Center,” stat­ed Dr. Mark Hoffman, Bucks IU Executive Director.  “This amaz­ing learn­ing cen­ter rep­re­sents the Bucks IU’s ongo­ing com­mit­ment to pro­vid­ing inno­v­a­tive edu­ca­tion­al oppor­tu­ni­ties for chil­dren and adults.  I wel­come the entire Bucks County com­mu­ni­ty to join us at a future Fab Lab Center event!”

What is the Fab Lab Center? 

This unique space offers pro­grams, events, and activ­i­ties designed to encour­age curios­i­ty, cre­ativ­i­ty, and artis­tic expres­sion through col­lab­o­ra­tion, com­mu­ni­ca­tion, and crit­i­cal think­ing.  The workspace’s writable table­tops can be arranged into dif­fer­ent shapes and group­ings for max­i­mum col­lab­o­ra­tion, along with flex­i­ble seat­ing arrange­ments that offer space for more relaxed inter­ac­tions.  Large wall-mounted dig­i­tal dis­plays pro­vide groups the abil­i­ty to clear­ly see and share their efforts.

The Fab Lab cen­ter is home to CNC routers, 3D print­ers, a laser engraver, vinyl cut­ters, Silhouette fab­ri­ca­tors, and more.  Laptop com­put­ers and tablets are ful­ly loaded with soft­ware designed to encour­age explo­ration and cre­ation.  Designs and con­cepts then come to life as they are actu­al­ly fab­ri­cat­ed using the Fab Lab Center’s equipment.

Programs For Children

Children cur­rent­ly in grades K‑12 will find pro­grams that explore STEAM areas of inter­est through hands-on activ­i­ties that are both age and skill lev­el appro­pri­ate. Kids will become immersed in excit­ing activ­i­ties as they explore, exam­ine, and cre­ate.  Perhaps a spark will be ignit­ed towards a future career path!

Fab Lab Center clubs and pro­grams will focus on Engineering and Design, Coding and Robotics, Advanced Coding with Arduino, Community Service through Hydroponics, Making through Digital Fabrication, and so much more!  For the cur­rent list of events, please go to www.BucksIU.org/FabLab/Events.   

  • Join the Club! After-school clubs run for six-week ses­sions, meet­ing for 60–90 min­utes once each week and are each offered with a dif­fer­ent pro­gram top­ic focus.
  • STEAM Saturdays offer a unique one-day, multi-hour ses­sion loaded with fun.

Professional Development

The Fab Lab Center is a meet­ing and learn­ing space for STEAM edu­ca­tors and school admin­is­tra­tors. Programs offered ‘edu­cate the edu­ca­tor’ on sci­ence and tech­nol­o­gy, ele­men­tary engi­neer­ing, visu­al arts, math, STEAM inte­gra­tion in the class­room, and teach­ing
and learn­ing best prac­tices. The Bucks IU is a cer­ti­fied provider of Engineering is Elementary (EIE) Professional Development.

Field Trips

For a FABulous field trip des­ti­na­tion, the Fab Lab Center is an excel­lent option. The Center’s var­ied pro­grams and activ­i­ties allow for a cur­ricu­lum to be cho­sen that com­ple­ments and sup­ports what a school or orga­ni­za­tion is cur­rent­ly learning.

For Businesses and Community Organizations

Specialized Fab Lab Center pro­grams offer groups, com­pa­nies, and busi­ness­es team build­ing exer­cis­es or retreat-like work­shops. Get togeth­er to share activ­i­ties that encour­age and devel­op team syn­er­gy for improved pro­duc­tiv­i­ty while pro­vid­ing excel­lent boosts to morale in a fun set­ting that pro­motes team­work, col­lab­o­ra­tion, and innovation. 

­­­The Bucks IU as a Leader of STEAM/STEM Programs

 “The Bucks IU has been a cham­pi­on in the STEAM and com­put­er sci­ence space, tak­ing the col­lec­tive impact approach quite seri­ous­ly,” stat­ed Mr. Judd Pittman, Special Advisor to Pennsylvania Secretary of Education and a Special Consultant on Science Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). “The Fab Lab Center being opened today is a prime exam­ple of the inno­va­tion and growth that PAsmart is intend­ed to gen­er­ate and will serve as a model.” 

In 2019, the Bucks IU intro­duced a Mobile Fab Lab to Bucks County – one of only 50 in the United States. This large tran­sit van of dig­i­tal fab­ri­ca­tion and com­put­er sci­ence equip­ment is brought to Bucks County schools by a Program Coordinator for week-long res­i­den­cies.  The over­whelm­ing suc­cess of that school-based pro­gram, which con­tin­ues to be in pop­u­lar demand, has been the dri­ving force behind the open­ing of this Fab Lab Center so that fun and engag­ing STEAM activ­i­ties and pro­grams would now also be avail­able to the public.

Dr. Lindsey Sides, Bucks IU Supervisor of STEAM Education, stat­ed “We are thrilled to open the Bucks IU’s Fab Lab Center after see­ing the inter­est and excite­ment grow so rapid­ly for our Mobile Fab Lab and STEAM activ­i­ties. We look for­ward to expand­ing our Bucks IU STEAM pro­grams and events while also mak­ing them avail­able to more people.”

Find Out More

  • Visit the Bucks IU Fab Lab Center’s web­site at BucksIU.org/FabLab for more infor­ma­tion about all our Fab Lab programs.
  • Register for Fab Lab Center events and activ­i­ties at BucksIU.org/FabLab/Events.
  • The Fab Lab Center is only open to those pre-registered (no walk-ins/on-site reg­is­tra­tions are allowed).
  • For ques­tions regard­ing field trips, team build­ing work­shops, or retreats please email FabLab@BucksIU.org or call 215–340-4575.