Whether you call it a makerspace, hackerspace, or a fab lab, making and 21st century education just seem to go together. It’s become increasingly common for schools to feature these types of spaces, which are designed to promote hands-on tinkering, breaking, collaboration, failure, problem solving, and creative invention using any assortment of tools. In fab labs, students are free to create whatever they want in essentially any way that they want. But, of course, there are some incredibly powerful tools that they can use to help accomplish these innovative projects—some that are high-tech and others that are on the simpler side. Here’s some of what teachers can look for when drawing up plans for their fab labs complete with where you might find these tools as well.
Since the term ‘fab lab’ is short for fabrication laboratory, you can traditionally find all sorts of cool technologies within them. Also, fab labs are not reserved just for young kids, either. Many teenagers, college students, and even adults have been known to frequent fab labs, especially with the continued emergence of the Maker Movement. In these kinds of places, everybody is welcome, encouraged to invent freely, and bound only by the limits of their imaginations. This goes for those fab labs that are set within the general community as well as those that find their homes within schools.
In fab labs, it’s all about making something out of nothing. Objects, tools, and devices that students create can be generated in a number of ways and one of the most exciting is using a 3D carving machine. The X-Carve is the perfect option for an educational fab lab as it is affordable, fairly easy to get the hang of, and easily able to excite students. Students can use this system to create anything from signs and plaques to furniture and musical instruments. X-Carve has software called Easel, which students can use to choose a picture, import it, and watch as it gets prepared to be carved!
For more experienced makers, they can try something that’s a CNC machine but also has other components. The BoXZY Complete system is technically a 3-in-1 device that features the ability to use it as a 3D printer, CNC machine, or as a laser engraver. Despite all that it can do, the BoXZY Complete is perfect for fab labs because it is compact and easy to set up, but still provides a great amount of power. It utilizes an Autodesk Fusion 360 Cloud-based CAD platform and a whole slew of functional attachments to help deliver a state-of-the-art making experience that’s perfect for any fab lab.
On the simpler side, the 3Doodler 3D printing pens offer students the same kinds of fabrication experiences but without as much in terms of cost or complexity. There are different models that are suitable for students of different age groups and each is capable of helping them engineer innovative structures. With 3Doodler, it’s as simple as using the machine like it was a pen—going through the writing motion and allowing it to dispense the plastic filament in three dimensions! Kids can create structures that are bigger than you might think and stretch their design thinking skills all while using the 3Doodler!
The last line of fab lab tools we’ll recommend for now are the various MakeDo construction packs. There are an assortment of them available and students can use these plastic screws, screwdrivers, and tools to anchor cardboard inventions and a lot of other things they create in the fab lab. The plastic pieces are both durable and affordable and provide students with plenty of chances to incorporate them in whatever it is they are building. To learn more about it, check out some of our other posts about MakeDo!
Of course, if you’d prefer to go all out and stock your school’s fab lab with innovative laser cutters, vinyl machines, or 3D printers, we wouldn’t stop you! We just wanted to make sure everyone’s aware that there are more options and that it’s important to take the time and try to find what’s best for you! For more info on all of the MakerEd tools we offer, be sure to visit our one-stop shop and follow us on Twitter and Instagram if you don’t already!