St Joseph High School

Students have begun spending time in a classroom filled with technology that includes 3D printers, laser cutters, milling machines, vinyl cutters and a computer that can program machines to do special commands on demand. Students at St. Joseph's H.S. in Downtown Brooklyn are being taught digital fabrication and computation first-hand through a vari... ety of projects and machines. Jessica Peters, a senior, wants to be a biomedical engineer one day. "Learning digital fabrication and other technological processes definitely empowers me to be the best that I can be," said Peters. "I have a passion for engineering, which is a male-dominated field, creating great challenges that I will work my hardest to overcome." We were able to set up a Fab Lab at Saint Joseph's H.S. thanks to our collaboration with Fab Lab Connect, which helped us organize our space, select and set up the necessary equipment and machinery, as well as providing teacher training, professional development, student activities, and continuous support. One component of being part of the Fab Lab Network is being able to connect with the larger community of inventors and creators that spans at least 80 countries, which creates a global network of research and invention. We are all very excited about the prospect of connecting with other schools across the globe. In addition to assembling a 3D printer furnished by Ultimaker, the school has begun printing 3D printed prosthetic hands. "It empowers me to grow and help the world... like printing prosthetic hands that will allow kids without a hand not to feel different in society but 'cool,'" said Samantha Acosta, a junior at SJHS.Read More