Thursday, July 17, 2025
73 ° Mostly Cloudy
73 ° Mostly Cloudy
The Bucks County Intermediate Unit (Bucks IU) Fab Lab is the proud recipient of a $450,000 PAsmart Innovation Grant to expand its incredibly successful Mobile Fab Lab program. PAsmart grants are intended to expand access to computer science and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education for learners across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This grant is an important step in making hands-on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) and digital fabrication experiences accessible to every elementary school in Bucks County, as well as select schools in the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit region. Only seventeen Innovation grants were awarded out of over one hundred applicants from around the state of Pennsylvania.
The Mobile Fab Lab is a large van that carries computer science and digital fabrication equipment, such as 3D printers, a laser cutter, and a variety of robots, to schools for one-week residencies. Each school residency is led by a highly specialized teacher. The PAsmart grant will provide a new van, all the necessary equipment, and staffing for one full year of programming.
The immediate impact of this grant will be significant, enabling the Mobile Fab Lab to expand its reach from 12,000 to 30,000 students.
In the long term, the grant will fund the development of a comprehensive “playbook” by Fab Lab staff. This guide will provide a replicable model for organizations interested in implementing their own Mobile Fab Lab program, expanding access to STEAM education beyond Bucks County.
Dr. Lindsey Sides, Bucks IU Supervisor of STEAM Education, stated, “We are incredibly proud of the success of our first Mobile Fab Lab that is now wrapping up its fifth year of operation and continues to be in high demand, filling its calendar of residency weeks every year! It is due to this amazing success, and the support of a new PAsmart Grant, that we are now able to add and equip another Mobile Fab Lab to serve schools in Bucks County and beyond.
By delivering STEAM experiences directly to students, the Mobile Fab Lab fosters early interest in STEAM and Career and Technical Education (CTE) fields. Students engage in hands-on, project-based learning with advanced technologies such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and robotics, gaining exposure to vital skills.
This new grant will fully fund a third Mobile Fab Lab, increasing the program’s student reach by 150 percent. The first MFL, funded by a previous PAsmart Grant, launched in September 2019 for Bucks County school districts. A second van, introduced in 2023, serves nonpublic schools in the region. Demand for MFL residencies remains high, with bookings opening in April and typically filling up before the end of the current school year.
By inspiring creative problem-solving and technological exploration from an early age, the Bucks IU Fab Lab program is cultivating a STEAM pipeline. It aims to prepare students for future academic and career opportunities while supporting regional economic development and workforce readiness.
The Bucks IU Fab Lab team is immensely grateful for this PAsmart Grant and the opportunity it provides to expand the reach of STEAM education in Bucks County and beyond. Please visit the Bucks IU’s website for information about the Bucks IU’s Fab Lab programs: www.BucksIU.org/FabLab.
