Neidig Elementary School students experience Fab Lab technology

The Bucks County Intermediate Unit’s Fab Lab visited Neidig Elementary School last week, giving students an opportunity to learn from its cutting-edge technology that’s designed to inspire and encourage them to pursue careers in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) fields.
Neidig Fab Lab’s work during the week of Jan. 10, which includes students in grades one through five, is linked to its curriculum and helps prepare students for tomorrow’s workforce, which will require them to be skilled in computer science and digital fabrication.
Students in fourth grade, for example, this week’s Fab Lab priority grade, have been learning about magnetic fields and creating a code path. JoAnn Klee’s fourth graders were introduced to Sphero, a spherical robot programmed to roll around and perform different functions using an iPad App.
Younger students have been studying the importance of the oceans or creating buildings for communities. Some of the work is done on a laser engraver or other digital fabrication equipment.
“This is a great experience for our students,” said Stacey DiCicco, the Neidig teacher who signed her school up for the program that’s in great demand. “This gives them a real hands-on opportunity to discover something they might like to pursue.”
She praised Adrienne Romano, coordinator of the Bucks County Intermediate Unit’s Fab Lab program, who’s been teaching the classes.
“The exposure to these technologies really prepares them for how significant the digital fabrication labs are in our industries and may be used in a future career,” Mrs. Romano said. “Understanding the equipment better is a definite plus. We need more students well-rounded in their knowledge of these technologies.”
The lab is a transit van that transports several carts full of equipment such as 3D printers, a laser engraver, CNC router, vinyl cutter, and a variety of robotics equipment. It also has laptop computers with specialized software programs to control and interact with the equipment.

The equipment is very expensive. Through PAsmart Grants, the BCIU received $150,000 for the Fab Lab, to expand teacher professional development, and expand the reach of the Fab Lab to county public libraries and school districts with the greatest populations of homeless students and low-income families.
There’s great demand for the unit, and its annual one-week residencies at schools fills up in approximately 36 hours once it’s posted, Mrs. Romano said.
Principal Scott Godshalk said DiCicco “organized, planned and was the brains behind the whole operation.”
“This is a unique experience for our students, and we are excited to have this learning opportunity here at Neidig,” he said. “It is inspiring to see our students fabricating evidence of their learning using these new tools. The Fab Lab also helps the teaching team identify new and exciting ways to engage students with our curriculum.”
Klee’s fourth grade classes were introduced to Sphero, a spherical robot programmed to roll around and perform different functions using an iPAD App. The students worked in groups of two.
Previously, this school year, the Fab Lab visited Richland in October and Pfaff in November.
“This takes them to the next level, which is phenomenal,” Richland social studies teacher Stephanie Traumuller said of the Fab Lab. “It’s fabulous that the IU makes this available. Kids love engaging with new technology. I’ll be doing something and they’ll tell me, ‘No, it goes like this.’ They show me! They pick it up so fast. Without the IU we wouldn’t be able to do it.”
Gary Weckselblatt is director of communications for Quakertown Community School District.

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