The New SCOE Design Lab
Author: Casey Shea
Published: 08.17.15
Over the summer, a very exciting project took shape in the SCOE offices on Skylane Boulevard. Thanks to our partnership with Quattrocchi Kwok Architects and the supportive leadership at SCOE of Dr. Steve Herrington (Superintendent), Mickey Porter (Deputy Superintendent), and John Silvestrini (Operations Director), SCOE became one of the first county offices of education anywhere to house its own makerspace! (Click here to read an article about the Design Lab in the North Bay Business Journal.)
The SCOE Design Lab is a 725 square foot space created to foster collaboration, creativity, and innovation in teaching and learning. The Design Lab was carved out of an existing hallway area adjacent to the Madrone Computer Lab. When combined, the two spaces can accommodate hands-on workshops for up to 45 teachers and students. Included in the Design Lab are a laser cutter, two 3D printers, a vinyl cutter and accompanying heat press, a green screen wall for video production, and a workbench with hand tools.
The space will allow SCOE to support teachers in gaining knowledge, skills, and expertise in the various elements of Maker Education. SCOE will offer a number of teacher workshops throughout the year for teachers in all content areas grades K-12 and will make the Design Lab available for drop-in use, as well. A secondary purpose of the Design Lab is for teachers to bring small groups of students to complete a specific Maker activity.
Procedures for using the Design Lab are now posted on the SCOE website at http://www.scoe.org/pub/htdocs/designlab.html. Information on upcoming classes, custom service requests, and purchasing time on the digital manufacturing equipment can all be found there. We encourage you to drop by the Design Lab the next time you are at SCOE. It is a great example of what a 21st century learning environment that supports active, engaged learning can look like.
Blog: Maker Education
