On Friday, 4th of March 2016, the premises of FabLab Oulu received a visit of an international group of twelve pupils. The group had pupils from Myllytulli School (Oulu) and Wolstanton High School (Newcastle-under-Lyme, the UK). The students were accompanied by two teachers from both schools.
During the visit, Fab Lab was presented to the pupils; first, the staff presented the Fab Lab concept and gave the youngsters a tour throughout all the machines available, explaining the purpose and basic usage principles of each machine. After that, the youngsters participated in three different hands-on workshops in which they created small souvenirs for their respective schools, built a personalized keyring and assembled a Formula 1 car out of laser-cut pieces. They learnt the basic principles of 2D software design tools, as well as how to operate the laser cutter. All in all, the youngsters and their teachers got many ideas of how to use FabLab in various learning and teaching activities in the future. They were all eager to return to FabLab to learn more about design and fabrication, and to enjoy the inspirational tools and environment again!
This visit took place within the Fablab4School project run by the University of Oulu ITEE Faculty. The project aims at increasing the awareness of FabLab among teachers and high school students in the Oulu area, as well as in encouraging children and youngsters to participate in various FabLab activities.