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    Adam Savage, Former Co-Host of “MythBusters” to Visit Pittsburgh Area to Promote Innovation and Making with Support from Chevron and the Fab Foundation

Adam Savage, Former Co-Host of “MythBusters” to Visit Pittsburgh Area to Promote Innovation and Making with Support from Chevron and the Fab Foundation

Chevron and the Fab Foundation were thrilled to sponsor a visit to Cleveland area Fab Labs and makerspaces by Adam Savage, Former Co-Host of “MythBusters” in order to promote innovation and making.

Sonya Pryor-Jones, the Fab Foundation’s Chief Implementation Officer, was instrumental in arranging the details of the visit which included stops at the Elizabeth Forward School District, the Intermediate Unit 1 Fab Lab, the Carnegie Science Center Fab Lab, Carnegie Mellon’s IDeATe@Hunt, University of Pittsburgh’s Human Engineering Research Laboratories, 7800 Susquehanna, and the Children’s Museum Pittsburgh’s early childhood makerspace.

The Fab Foundation is pleased to announce that Adam’s recent visit to Pittsburgh is part of a national tour of 6 Maker Cities in the USA. The tour is designed to visit and document innovation in education, entrepreneurship, and workforce development. Sponsorship is provided by Chevron, as part of the energy company’s continuing commitment to STEM education. Started in response to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy “Maker Initiative,” Mr. Savage aims to engage and excite the communities he visits and then document the tour on video for the entire country to share in the experience via multiple media channels, including Tested.com. He will visit a variety of fab labs, makerspaces, hackerspaces and innovative makers in each community. Stay tuned!

By |October 5th, 2016|Press Releases|Comments Off on Adam Savage, Former Co-Host of “MythBusters” to Visit Pittsburgh Area to Promote Innovation and Making with Support from Chevron and the Fab Foundation
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    Inaugural Chevron STEM Education Award Winners Announced at FAB12

Inaugural Chevron STEM Education Award Winners Announced at FAB12

The Fab Foundation, with support from Chevron, is pleased to announce the winners of the inaugural Chevron STEM Education Awards, celebrating great educators in Fab Labs around the world.

First place was awarded to Fab Lab El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA, followed by Fab Lab CEPT Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, FabLat Kids, Latin America and the Carnegie Science Center Fab Lab, Pittsburgh, PA, USA rounded out the winners. The Criteria for the award included exceptional programming that demonstrated innovative methods in teaching STEM subjects utilizing the tools of digital fabrication such as CAD design, 3D Printing and microelectronics.

“We’re thrilled to honor educators and Fab Labs that are working at the forefront of STEM through youth outreach and K-12 programming,” says Sherry Lassiter, President of the Fab Foundation. “We greatly value Chevron’s partnership and leadership in these efforts.”

The Chevron STEM Education Award included cash prizes and recognition at Fab12, the annual meeting of the international Fab Lab Network held this year in Shenzhen, China. There are now over 1,000 Fab Labs around the world making the tools of digital fabrication accessible to everyone. While each Fab Lab has its own focus, there is a wide range of STEM education programing at the facilities in schools, colleges, universities, libraries, museums and innovation centers worldwide.

 

“Chevron is proud to support the Fab Foundation to recognize Fab educators who demonstrate their commitment to teaching STEM and foster innovation among students,” said Janet Auer, Advisor, Education and Corporate Programs at Chevron. “Chevron is committed to investing in STEM education to encourage students and community members to be the innovators and makers of the future.”

By |October 3rd, 2016|Press Releases|Comments Off on Inaugural Chevron STEM Education Award Winners Announced at FAB12

Fabbers Honored at White House Week of Making

The Fab Foundation is pleased to announce a number of special activities during the National Week of Making held in the United States from June 17 to 23, 2016.

White House Champions of Change

The White House recognized ten individuals as “Champions of Change” in the Making category. The White House says the selection process identified Americans who exhibited “personal passion and tireless efforts to make advances in technology and platforms, educational opportunities, or spaces that empower even more Americans to become tinkerers, inventors, and entrepreneurs”.

The Fab Foundation is thrilled that three of the ten Champions of Change are associated with Fab Labs:

  • Umberto Crenca, co-founder and artistic director of AS220 in Providence, RI
  • Renee Fredericks, director of Youth Education and Employment Services at Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC) Fab Lab in Anchorage, Alaska
  • Sonya Pryor-Jones, Chief Implementation Officer at the Fab Foundation

The White House ceremony recognizing the Champions of Change took place on Friday June 17 at 1 p.m. The event featured remarks by U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith and Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The program was live-streamed on the White House website at www.whitehouse.gov/live/ and is in the archives.

Capitol Hill Maker Faire

The Capitol Hill Maker Faire featured a day of panel discussions. Fab Foundation Director Sherry Lassiter explored The Future of Making with Dale Dougherty, founder of MAKE: Magazine and Kipp Bradford from the MIT Media Lab. In another panel Donald Martin, IU1 Assistant Executive Director and […]

By |June 27th, 2016|Press Releases|Comments Off on Fabbers Honored at White House Week of Making

Fab Foundation Director Sherry Lassiter Keynotes at DigiFabCon April Conference

Sherry Lassiter, Director of the Fab Foundation, brought her unique perspective of the Fab Lab Network to the opening keynote at DigiFabCon in April at the Microsoft NERD Center in Cambridge.  Having been involved with the development of Fab Labs from the beginning, Sherry shared the Fab Lab Network history and described the exciting current and future projects we are undertaking. Here is the link to the complete presentation.

By |May 30th, 2016|Press Releases|Comments Off on Fab Foundation Director Sherry Lassiter Keynotes at DigiFabCon April Conference
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    Chevron and Intermediate Unit 1 Launch Community Fab Lab to Encourage and Cultivate STEM Education in Southwestern Pennsylvania

Chevron and Intermediate Unit 1 Launch Community Fab Lab to Encourage and Cultivate STEM Education in Southwestern Pennsylvania

Mobile Fab Lab to Reach Students in Rural Locations

October 28, 2015 – Coal Center, PA – Chevron andIntermediate Unit 1 (IU1) in coordination with The Fab Foundation announced today the launch of a fabrication lab (Fab Lab) that will serve Fayette, Greene, and Washington counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. The IU1 Community Fab Lab will offer a permanent Fab Lab in Coal Center, as well as a mobile Fab Lab, which will give rural community school districts access to mobile technology and equipment that can be set up at their schools.

This digital fabrication workshop is made possible by a portion of Chevron’s $10 million commitment to the Fab Foundation, announced in 2014 at the White House Maker Faire, to build Fab Labs in areas where it operates in the U.S.

The IU1 Community Fab Lab will feature state-of-the-art design and fabrication equipment, such as laser cutters, 3D printers, vinyl cutters and milling machines, which will give students and the broader community unprecedented access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) resources and help build the skills and experience needed to succeed in STEM fields. The Fab Lab will promote innovation and design in the community and will build the local workforce capacity.
In addition to the permanent Fab Lab in Coal Center, a mobile Fab Lab will also be available to serve communities in the areas of Fayette, Greene, and Washington counties. This will provide high-tech equipment and teacher resources that are not often available in rural parts of these counties. The IU1 mobile Fab Lab will help bring these tools out into the community so students can build the skills needed for jobs in STEM and technical fields.

Ensuring our students have the STEM skills necessary […]

By |October 30th, 2015|Press Releases|Comments Off on Chevron and Intermediate Unit 1 Launch Community Fab Lab to Encourage and Cultivate STEM Education in Southwestern Pennsylvania
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    The Fab Foundation and Chevron Enhance Fab Lab DC to Promote STEM Opportunities in the U.S.

The Fab Foundation and Chevron Enhance Fab Lab DC to Promote STEM Opportunities in the U.S.

Washington, D.C. – The Fab Foundation today announced the expansion of a fabrication lab (Fab Lab) in Washington, D.C. made possible by a grant from Chevron that will further spur the creative economy and interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. Fab Lab DC will include updated features and an improved STEM education program which will provide invaluable opportunities for K-12 students and members of the community to design and invent almost anything they can imagine.

Fab Lab DC, a nonprofit, digital fabrication laboratory open to students and the community, works to advance STEM education, human centered design, collaborative projects and the creative economy which relies on innovative solutions to society’s needs.

Last month, President Obama underscored the importance of STEM education in fostering the innovation and entrepreneurship on which the U.S. economy relies. The hands-on learning that will be available at Fab Lab DC is critical in sparking an interest in STEM and preparing individuals for the nearly 1 million U.S. jobs that will require basic STEM literacy over the next five years.

“We are thrilled to partner with Chevron to expand Fab Lab DC’s offerings to the community,” said Fab Foundation President Sherry Lassiter. “This new facility will give students and teachers access to sophisticated technology and together with Chevron, we’ll carry out our shared mission to empower students in the fields of technology, science and engineering through hands-on learning.”

Like the more than 400 facilities in the Fab Lab Network, Fab Lab DC is centered around a suite of digital fabrication tools and prototyping machines such as laser cutters, 3D Printers, vinyl cutters and milling machines, used for “Making (almost) Anything.” It is the second of 10 Fab Labs that Chevron is […]

By |August 26th, 2015|Press Releases|Comments Off on The Fab Foundation and Chevron Enhance Fab Lab DC to Promote STEM Opportunities in the U.S.
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    Fab Foundation Launches Fab Lab for Innovation and Hands-on Learning at CA State University, Bakersfield

Fab Foundation Launches Fab Lab for Innovation and Hands-on Learning at CA State University, Bakersfield

Chevron Grant Provides Access to Cutting-Edge Tools for STEM Education

Cambridge, MA – Sept. 24, 2014 – The Fab Foundation today announced the opening of a Digital Fabrication Laboratory (Fab Lab) at California State University Bakersfield’s School of Natural Science, Mathematics and Engineering. The Fab Lab, made possible by a generous grant from Chevron, offers hands-on, project-based learning opportunities to the community, with particular emphasis on STEM education for students in grades K – 12.

Like the more than 400 facilities in the Fab Lab Network, the CSUB Fab Lab, is centered around a suite of digital fabrication tools and prototyping machines such as laser cutters, 3D Printers, and milling machines, used for “Making (almost) Anything”. It is the first of ten Fab Labs that Chevron is bringing to areas where the company operates as a result of the energy company’s strong commitment to communities and STEM education in particular.

“We are excited to partner with these world-class organizations to open this state-of-the-art Fab Lab here at CSUB,” elaborates Blair Blackwell, manager of corporate education programs at Chevron. “Investing in STEM is a national imperative and we at Chevron are dedicated to working with our partners to provide cutting-edge tools that foster innovation for the benefit of K-12 students around the country.”

Dr. Anne Houtman, Dean of the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering at CSUB explains: “CSUB has been a center for STEM education in Kern County for almost half a century. The debut of the Fab Lab at CSUB highlights our continued commitment to lifelong learning for better lives and better careers.”

The Fab Foundation supports Fab Labs worldwide in a wide range of […]

By |September 24th, 2014|Press Releases|Comments Off on Fab Foundation Launches Fab Lab for Innovation and Hands-on Learning at CA State University, Bakersfield
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    SOLIDWORKS Donates 3D Design Software to the Fab Foundation for Worldwide Fab Lab Use

SOLIDWORKS Donates 3D Design Software to the Fab Foundation for Worldwide Fab Lab Use

August 10, 2014; Cambridge, MA – The Fab Foundation is pleased to announce a donation of 3D design software from the Dassault Systemes SOLIDWORKS Corporation to the more than 350 facilities in the Fab Lab Network. Each official Fab Lab will be eligible to receive one Commercial license of the SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD program Premium version. In addition, Fab Labs that are sites for the Fab Academy’s How to Build (Almost) Anything course will be able to get a 10-seat network license of the 3D CAD SOLIDWORKS Education Edition.

The donation was announced by Marie Planchard, SOLIDWORKS’ Director of the Education Community at the recent Fab10 International Fab Lab Meeting in Barcelona, Spain. “Since our founding in 1995,” explains Ms. Planchard, “SOLIDWORKS has wanted to be more than just a supplier. To formally achieve that goal, we instituted a number of programs that help users ranging from our active SOLIDWORKS Community to a project identifying startup companies that need technical support to assisting First Robotics teams. There are 28,000 schools that teach with SOLIDWORKS and 240 SOLIDWORKS user groups around the world with the underlying principle to share knowledge and expand capabilities for everyone to succeed in their design and digital fabrication projects.”

Fab Foundation Director Sherry Lassiter says the SOLIDWORKS contribution comes at a perfect time for Fab Labs. “As our network is growing, Fab Lab projects are becoming more complex. To support those projects, the Fab Foundation wants to provide Fabbers with the resources they need to produce the powerful digital fabrication work that is impacting lives around the world. The SOLIDWORKS contribution is a beautiful gift to everyone who participates in a Fab Lab.”Ms. Lassiter expands upon the importance of […]

By |August 21st, 2014|Press Releases|Comments Off on SOLIDWORKS Donates 3D Design Software to the Fab Foundation for Worldwide Fab Lab Use
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    The Fab Foundation Launches New Fab Labs in the US with Generous Grant from Chevron

The Fab Foundation Launches New Fab Labs in the US with Generous Grant from Chevron

WASHINGTON, D.C. June 18, 2014 – The Fab Foundation today announced that it will open up to 10 fabrication laboratories (Fab Labs) across the country in the next three years based upon a $10 million grant from Chevron Corporation.
The new Fab Labs will be located throughout the U.S. in areas where Chevron operates, including the first two facilities in Bakersfield and Richmond, California. When complete, these facilities will provide approximately 20,000 students and adults a hands-on science and technology experience.
This new grant is part of Chevron’s recently announced $30 million commitment and call-to-action to support STEM education and project-based learning methods.

The announcement was made today during the first-ever White House Maker Faire. There, the Fab Foundation and Chevron partnered with the MIT Mobile Fab Lab to demonstrate how students, faculty, tech enthusiasts, and engineers use digital fabrication tools. Innovations shown include: 3D printed guitars, a cargo bike with a mobile solar charging business onboard, Machines that Make Machines, a prosthetic foot,, and a desktop stereolithography 3D Printer. The Mobile Fab Lab is a computer-controlled design and machining fab lab housed in a trailer. This first mobile lab was built in August 2007 by the Center for Bits and Atoms at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The mobile lab includes the same computer controlled fabrication machines found in fab labs world-wide such as laser cutters, 3D Printers, and CNC milling machines. 

“Along with launching new fab labs, Chevron’s grant will help build the Fab Foundation’s capacity to provide access to digital fabrication across the country and around the world,” said Neil Gershenfeld, chairman of the Fab Foundation’s board. “At the White House Maker Faire we’ll be celebrating how makers are using these […]

By |June 19th, 2014|Press Releases|Comments Off on The Fab Foundation Launches New Fab Labs in the US with Generous Grant from Chevron

FAB10

FAB10 Barcelona will focus on digital fabrication and its applications and implications in the urban context for the development of new city models during a whole week of daily meetings, workshops, fab festival, symposium & we will even build a Fab House at the 1000m2 Super Fab Lab.

Join us in sunny Barcelona this summer (2-8 of July, 2014) for this year’s Fab Lab Conference . All Fab Lab members currently qualify for a special €350 discount price. You can register here: https://www.fab10.org/register

And here are some tips for saving on travel expenses: https://www.fab10.org/en/funding-advice

By |April 4th, 2014|Press Releases|Comments Off on FAB10