Stebbins’ Fab Lab, or fabrication laboratory, provides students access to project-based learning with 3D printers, CNC routers, laser cutters and more. It all started with the idea that — with the right equipment — anyone can make “almost anything.”
Engineering instructor Jim Prater said many students do not see that kind of equipment until their junior year of college, if at all. Ahna Mellinger, a 15-year-old sophomore at Stebbins High School, is already competing with it.
“It’s really helped prepare me for what I want to do in the future,” said Mellinger, who has her sights set on a career in humanoid robotics.
Mellinger’s spring break started on Thursday, but she and about 15 other students, were in the Fab Lab preparing for a SumoBot competition that could help them earn college credit.
Others are building their own skateboards, guitars, and UAVs.
Jennifer Alexander, communications director for Mad River Local Schools, said the lab was a $60,000 project completed over several years with the help of career tech funding from the state.
“We’re preparing them for college, whether they want to go to a 2-year or a 4-year school — or if they want to go directly into the workforce,” Prater said.
Two high schoolers are already working for a local U.S. government contractor, he said, adding that they are compensated with college scholarship money.
There are more than 200 Fab Labs in 40 countries, including Afghanistan, Iceland, India and Peru. Stebbins students can share knowledge with any of those labs — and vice versa.
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