The School District of New Berlin was awarded a $19,000 state grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) for equipment in the new fabrication laboratory, or fab lab, which opened at New Berlin West Middle / High School last fall. The fab lab is designed to equip New Berlin students with essential skills for the 21st century’s global economy.

Including the SDNB, 31 school districts throughout the state were awarded a total of $693,200 in grants this year to establish or expand their fab labs.

“On any regular school day this year, our fab lab was constantly being used in many different ways by students in a variety of classes,” Superintendent Joe Garza said. “This grant is extremely important to our efforts and will allow us to continue to provide countless opportunities for our students and staff as they utilize this extremely unique and innovative space.”

Prior to the school closures, the fab lab at West was available to students in all classes, including technology, arts, business, STEM and more. Moving forward, the vision is to open the fab lab to members of the entire New Berlin community to utilize the technology and help mentor or hold their own events. Additionally, last October, West’s fab lab was showcased during the National EdSpaces Conference held in Milwaukee.

WEDC’s Fab Labs Grant Program is designed to support hands-on learning in the subjects of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) by assisting public school districts with equipment purchases such as 3D printers, laser engravers and computer numerical control routers for instructional and educational purposes.

“WEDC has invested more than $2.8 million for the past five years to provide 77 school districts across the state with the equipment necessary to help students learn high-demand skills, including technology, manufacturing and engineering,” said Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of WEDC. “Fab labs benefit not only the students themselves with important technology and career skills, but they also benefit Wisconsin employers, who will be able to find workers with the right skills to allow their companies to grow and thrive.”

For more information, visit the WEDC’s fab lab resource page.