Catalyst High School Fab Lab Instructor John Niebergall, a longtime shop teacher, aims to offer students space for hands-on innovation in his Makerspace class.
Niebergall’s recent assignments in his Makerspace class included creating a roller coaster for marbles and piecing together a prototype for a cellphone stand. The idea is to learn how to design and build marketable products. For example, the cellphone stand prototypes could be mass-produced with laser-cut plywood and sold online and in the community.
“Students learn how to design and build something, how you can take an idea and make it into something real,” Niebergall explained.
How students came up with that initial seed of an idea varied. While conceptualizing their cellphone stand prototypes, junior Annalia Radilla simply sought a cute, straightforward look, while junior Imelda Serrano found her inspiration in music. Serrano carved out a cardboard prototype with a swirling, swooping design as the notes rolled through her mind.
Although they didn’t know what to expect when they enrolled, they’re both enjoying their Makerspace class now.
“You can use your imagination,” Radilla noted.
“Same here, imagination — no limits,” Serrano said.
Beginning with imagination is just what Niebergall is hoping for with his Makerspace class and the type of innovative and practical assignments that will take place all year long in his shop, dubbed the Fab Lab. It’s just the beginning for the Fab Lab, nestled in Catalyst’s new, bond-funded Career Technical Education wing. There is so much more to come.