Bucks IU Awarded $450K Grant For Mobile Fab Lab Expansion

DOYLESTOWN, PA —— The Bucks County Intermediate Unit (Bucks IU) Fab Lab has received a $450,000 PAsmart Innovation Grant to expand its 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. The 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 17 Innovation grants were awarded out of more than 100 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 run, 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.

“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," said Dr. Lindsey Sides, Bucks IU Supervisor of STEAM Education. "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.

The 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.

Kirston Moore, a STEM/Gifted Support Teacher at West Rockhill Elementary in the Pennridge School

District, loves the educational options the Mobile Fab Lab brings her students.

“The Fab Lab visit enhances our already established elementary STEM program by introducing the students to fabrication machines and robots that we currently do not use in the STEM program," said Moore. "Students get to interact with 3D printers and the design software, laser engravers, Finch robots, Sphero Indi robots, 3D doodler pens, and button makers. They get to apply the skills they are learning in the STEM program to these new technologies as they use them to complete activities."

Moore added, "Students also get to create, make, and take their projects with them after learning about the new tool and technique. This was the second year that West Rockhill Elementary School participated in the Mobile Fab Lab program and shouts of joy spread through the hallways when students found out they were about to have a Fab Lab day in the STEM room.”

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. Students use Spero Indi robots to begin their understanding of coding.

Ronnie Leeds, a Pennridge School District elementary student, said, “Fab Lab and STEM teach me how I can do things like coding with robots and using conditionals on scratch to create things and make things happen. It’s lot of fun!”

Her Fab Lab partner, Isabella Conicelli, agrees.

“My favorite part of Fab Lab was coding with the robot cars to create different paths for them to follow. I also really enjoyed programming the tank robots to drive around the room and run over things.”

For more information about the Bucks IU's Fab Lab programs, visit www.BucksIU.org/FabLab .