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Educators from across the region gather in Chattanooga to learn about digital fabrication [photos]

Dalewood Volkswagen eLab Specialist Chris Seanard, left, helps Hixson High School Librarian Lindsey McCarter prepare to carver her name for her clock back as part of the design challenge for the Chattanooga Fabrication Institute at Dalewood Middle School on Monday, June 18, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Dalewood Volkswagen eLab Specialist Chris Seanard, left, helps Hixson High School Librarian Lindsey McCarter prepare to carver her name for her clock back as part of the design challenge for the Chattanooga Fabrication Institute at Dalewood Middle School on Monday, June 18, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Dalewood Volkswagen eLab Specialist Chris Seanard, left, helps Hixson High School Librarian Lindsey McCarter prepare to carver her name for her clock back as part of the design challenge for the Chattanooga Fabrication Institute at Dalewood Middle School on Monday, June 18, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

By Meghan Mangrum 5 min read

HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS’ VOLKSWAGEN eLABS

Brainerd High SchoolBrown Middle SchoolChattanooga School for the Arts & SciencesChattanooga Center for Creative ArtsDalewood Middle SchoolEast Hamilton Middle/HighHixson High SchoolHixson Middle SchoolThe Howard SchoolHunter Middle SchoolNormal Park Museum MagnetOoltewah Middle SchoolOrchard Knob Middle SchoolRed Bank Middle/High SchoolSale Creek Middle/HighSoddy-Daisy Middle School

Educators and community partners across Hamilton County are showing off some of the school systems’ most significant new assets this week, as teachers from across the region gather for Chattanooga’s first Digital Fabrication Institute, hosted in five of the district’s Volkswagen eLabs.

Teachers already were at work in five of the eLabs scattered across the district Monday afternoon, trying to create a clock from scratch using equipment and technology the eLabs are outfitted with, including 3-D printers, CNC routers, laser cutters and more.

The institute, a partnership among the Public Education Foundation, Hamilton County Schools and Hamilton County Education Association, is a four-day-long professional development experience made possible by a multi-year, $150,000 grant funded by the NEA Foundation to support teacher development and STEM education.

“The Chattanooga Fabrication Institute has empowered our teachers to share their unique insights with early adopters across the country and has identified many of our teachers as innovative education experts,” Michael Stone, director of innovative learning at the PEF, said in a statement.