skip to content
EMERGENCY ALERT NOTIFICATION

On Thursday, April 9, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, based on COVID-19 pandemic response efforts,  ordered all public schools and early childhood education programs to close through the end of the 2019-2020 academic school year.   

As a result, all Bucks County IU offices, programs, and services are closed through June 30, 2020. Families who receive services from the Bucks IU will continue to be provided a continuity of education through online or virtual platforms.

Responses to Right to Know requests will also be delayed until school offices open once again.

Click here for a list of resources related to the Flu and/or COVID-19 Coronavirus

EMERGENCY ALERT NOTIFICATION
Click for details.

NEW - For Information on helping the Mobile FAB LAB fabricate personal protective equiment (PPE) face shields during the COVID-19 pandemic, please click here.

3D printer, head peices and finished shields.

STEAM Education on the Go

The Mobile Fab Lab (fabrication laboratory) is one of only 50 in the United States and is designed to inspire and encourage students to pursue careers in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) fields.  

Judd Pittman helps intro the Fab Lab

In 2018, there were over 300,000 STEAM/STEM related jobs in Pennsylvania, and nearly 17,000 of those jobs were unfilled. This need is so great, with projections of it continuing, that Governor Wolf's PAsmart initiative has expand to science and technology education.

Right: Judd Pittman, Special Consultant to the Secretary of Education for STEM, Pennsylvania Department of Education, helps introduce the new Mobile Fab Lab at the ribbon cutting ceremony.

What is a Mobile Fab Lab

Students practice 3D printing.

The lab itself 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.  The Fab Lab also has laptop computers with specialized software programs to control and interact with the equipment. 

The lab will visit schools for a one-week residency and will visit regional homeless shelters on the weekends and during the summer.  A designated Fab Lab Program Coordinator accompanies the van and works with each site to provide age-appropriate curricula utilizing the equipment in ways supporting 21st century learning.  

Right: Students get to practice writing their name in 3D.

Support the Fab Lab

The Bucks IU is seeking partners to help guide and sustain the Mobile Fab Lab for years to come.

Fab Lab Program Coordinator introduces the ShppBot to the students

The Mobile Fab Lab Leadership Team meets throughout the year to ensure the Lab is meeting its goals, discuss sustainability plans, and celebrate the successes of the Lab.

Partnerships are built on a continuous basis - for more info click on the following link:

Fab Lab Sponsorship Information - Dec 2019

 

Thank you to our current sponsor: 
The words 'PECO - an Excelon company' with a diamond shaped graphic