Just a few years ago the old metal shop in Bristol Township’s Franklin D. Roosevelt Middle School sat empty. It was a place for storage of old equipment and other items that needed a temporary home.
Over the past year, the school district has worked with Verizon to turn the underused space into a state-of-the-art Innovative Learning Lab that features tools to prepare kids for the rapidly developing economy and job market. There are 3D printers, virtual reality equipment, an in-house multimedia studio, new computers, workstations for coding, and other hands-on tools.
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The new learning lab will be used by FDR students and pupils from the district’s other schools.
Students, according to school staff, will have the opportunity to learn, solve problems, and create.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
“[The students] can fail and learn,” instructional coach Bernadette Barone said. “People who innovate are not afraid to fail.”
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Student Samantha Monroe demonstrated to Innovative Learning Lab visitors how she used a Sphero and could control the orb to move around the room and change colors. She said the device is linked to her cell phone where she controlled its actions.
Nearby, students Emily Voshchilo and Molly Conner were using a computer to program a tool that etched designs into pieces of wood. The design they were working on was for the new lab.
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“It’s beautiful to be here, and I get to make things,” student Sredisha Deah said. “This prepares me for college and the workforce.”
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Sredisha showed off various items, including a complicated sphere with moving pieces, that was created by the students in the lab.
Barone explained the lab has partnered with the Arizona State University entrepreneurship program and will engage in collaboration with other organizations.
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FDR Principal Kevin Boles said the Innovative Learning Lab is a dream come true for educators and students.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
“When I was in school, I couldn’t have imagined something like this,” he said of the lab.
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Verizon, which has worked with Digital Promises over the past few years to support STEM learning programs in the district, granted FDR $40,000 for a maker lab. As plans were worked out, Verizon stepped forward and upped their contribution that will total more than $140,000 once the Innovative Learning Lab is completed.
The work on the former metal shop took several months and was designed by Verizon’s team. A group of contractors and Verizon volunteers put the space together, Boles said.
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Dr. Melanie Gerhens, the superintendent of the school district, said Neil Armstrong Middle School has a smaller-scale maker lab and will be working with FDR’s Innovative Learning Lab. She also explained that science labs in the three elementary schools will be adding maker lab features.
Verizon officials said they have invested $1.8 million, including free internet, to FDR since 2014.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
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