Altoona school district's fab lab gets $25K grant, visit by lt. gov.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Chuck Rupnow | Leader-Telegram
ALTOONA - The computer, electronic connectors, orange Play-Doh and other items Spencer Burgraff and Bennett Stokke worked with Tuesday at the Altoona school district's fab lab workshop will likely pay dividends down the road.
The 10-year-olds spoke of their projects with Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, one of several dignitaries to acknowledge a $25,000 grant that will assist the district in upgrading its fabrication laboratory.
"That's not what I was doing with Play-Doh years ago," Kleefisch said before complimenting Altoona on its fab lab, a high-tech workshop with a variety of computer-controlled manufacturing components.
Altoona, Ellsworth ($25,000) and Ladysmith ($15,000) were three of 21 school districts to receive a total of almost $500,000 in Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. grants as part of Tuesday's Fab Lab Day proclaimed by Gov. Scott Walker.
"Fab labs play a vital role in ensuring that today's students have the skills they need to compete for the jobs of the 21st century by providing hands-on experience in areas such as design, engineering and complex problem-solving," Walker said in a statement.
A fab lab offers a number of components, including 3-D printers, laser engravers, computer numerical control routers and plasma cutters for elementary school through high school students.
The fab lab program, which requires matching funds from each district, will help the Altoona district expand its manufacturing by adding a lathe, mill machine and router, said district tech ed instructor Jeff Ballentine.
"The lab is important because it's a community-based initiative where you bring in machines and processes where businesses and schools work together for a common solution," said Bill Steinke, also a tech ed instructor. "This allows the solution of problems using people's creativity and ingenuity, and allows students to think in a different way. It really enhances and enriches their learning experiences."
The governor said the Altoona district "has developed an outstanding plan for its fab lab program that is going to result in more innovation in the classrooms and the community, and the WEDC is proud to support the district's efforts."
Altoona schools Superintendent Connie Biedron said the district is "driven to provide our students with cutting edge opportunities to ensure they are equipped to drive their future to success and happiness."
Fifth-graders Sofia Bach and Katelyn Beltz, along with fourth-grader Rebecca Roth, were working on computerized 3-D modeling programs in the lab Tuesday.
"I like that you can create what you want and like," Bach said about the program, with Beltz, whose father is a programmer, adding: "I like making animations and things."
"You can literally do anything - whatever you want, and I like that," Roth said.
District officials outlined marketing and manufacturing goals that will be accelerated by the grant funding and with continued input and influence from local businesses, the school board and city of Altoona officials.
WEDC has developed a fab lab resource page for its website that provides districts with information on how to set up and equip a fab lab. Content for the page was provided by UW-Stout and Gateway Technical College.
UW-Stout in Menomonie received a grant from WEDC for the development of an online tool to increase collaboration and the sharing of resources among state fab labs.
"The fab lab approach is an exciting way to engage students in preparing them for career pathways that are both exciting and challenging, and also vital to our competitiveness in a global economy," Stout Chancellor Bob Meyer said.
Contact: 715 830-5831, chuck.rupnow@ecpc.com, @crupnow on Twitter Read more about this article »
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