FabNY: Digital Design & Fabrication STEM Program TLC Grant Opportunity for Public Libraries

We are delighted to announce an exciting grant opportunity, made possible by the Cisco Foundation, which has allowed the Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning and Creativity to bring more meaningful STEM education to students in upstate New York. Through this funding, we are able to offer the The Fab@School FabMaker STEM program to 10 public schools, as well as 2 public libraries who ideally already offer makerspace resources.  

Fab@School FabMaker Studio is part of a long-term research project, which the Reynolds Center has been working on with University of Virginia. The Fab@School FabMaker STEM program introduces digital design and fabrication to young learners (preK to grade 8). Fab@School has been funded over the past 8 years by National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, and several foundations (MacArthur, Cisco, Noyce, Morgridge, Motorola).

One strand of research the Reynolds Center is looking at is the potential of public schools and public libraries to work in partnership to provide extended STEM learning opportunities to students. Students may discover FabMaker in school, but once the school closed for the day, these young learners could continue to work on their projects. Since FabMaker is web-based, their projects are accessed from the cloud, so keep designing and fabricating - in school, community centers, libraries, and even home. Our hope is that public libraries will benefit by having students who are well-versed in this maker software who can help share and teach others in library’s makerspace, which removes the potential pressure from library staff to be deeply trained in the program. 

This opportunity includes:

• A library site license for Fab@School FabMaker Studio web-based, digital fabrication software program - compatible with Mac, Windows, iPad, Chromebooks, and other mobile devices – through June 2020.

• Digital fabrication hardware (1 Silhouette Portrait - digital fabricator)

• One on-site, centrally-located training workshop providing an overview of the software tools, as well as support for curriculum integration, featuring a keynote by Paul Reynolds

• Signed, personalized copy of Going Places STEM storybook by Paul & Peter H. Reynolds for each library

• Ready-to-go project ideas and lessons for libraries

• Reduced rate for ongoing annual renewals of the Fab@School Maker Studio software license after initial pilot

To qualify for the program, libraries need only to agree to three requirements. Participating public libraries would:

1. Provide the Reynolds Center with contact information for two people at the library site who will serve as primary liaison for the FabMaker STEM program.

2. Join brief, monthly check-ins with the Reynolds Center team (web conferences and/or email) to share updates on usage, and get tips/advice for implementation. 

3. Provide a short case study (no more than 200 words) of how FabMaker Studio was used at the library, and, if possible, photos of students using FabMaker Studio, with appropriate permission for use in funding reports and blog post/social media.

Through this collaboration, your library will be contributing in a substantive way in helping close gaps in student STEM learning, and increase career readiness and interest in STEM sector fields. This deployment represents a foundational building block in our efforts to reach 17 million students across the nation - and around the world - by 2025. 

If you have any questions, please email Andrea Calvin - andrea@reynoldstlc.org.

Download a PDF of the requirements here.