Dedham Schools & Library Land Grant-Funded STEM Program

DEDHAM, MA - Thanks to generous funding from Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation, which was established by Dassault Systèmes, a world leader in 3D design software with U.S. headquarters in Waltham, MA., Dedham Public Schools has been named a recipient of a new, grant-funded after-school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program. As part of the initiative, participating Dedham elementary students will learn STEM and design thinking skills by using the FabMaker Studio web-based platform, developed by the Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity. Working with FabMaker Studio, students in the FabMaker Crew after-school program will use the engineering design process to imagine, design, print, test and iterate a wide array of objects, including pop-ups, working machines, buildings, boxes and packaging, wind turbines, automata, paper airplanes, speakers, model skateboard parks, and more.

Al Bunshaft, President, the Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation shares, “With the world changing at an unprecedented pace, there is an urgent need to develop STEM skills in young people. That’s why the Dassault Systèmes U.S. Foundation is committed to giving students broader access to virtual worlds and 3D education content, which allows students to work both collaboratively and independently to unleash their creative thinking and build a better world.”

The FabMaker Crew after school program will offer the power of digital 3D engineering design and fabrication to participating upper elementary school students in Dedham, as well as foster the “4Cs skills” - communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, which have been identified as critical to students’ future success as economically-viable, productive citizens in the 21st century. Through project-based, integrated STEM challenges, students will learn the engineering design process, as well as important inquiry skills, and conceptual thinking. Plans include having students host FabMaker community nights at the Dedham Public Library, which was the first public library in the country to deploy FabMaker, as part of its Cut It Out program.

“We’re thrilled to support Dedham Public Schools and Dedham Public Library to bring the FabMaker Crew program to Dedham’s students,” notes FableVision/Reynolds Center’s Executive Director Paul Reynolds, adding, “We’re confident that the FabMaker Crew program will become a national model to “connect the dots” between schools and libraries to get young people to fall in love with STEM learning at a critical moment in the development of their self-concept.”

Now deployed in 43 states, the FabMaker program, part of the Make To Learn initiative based out of the University of Virginia, has attracted considerable funding from a wide variety of foundation, philanthropic and government sources – including National Science Foundation’s I-TEST, U.S. Department of Education’s IES-SBIR and i3, MacArthur Foundation, Bay Area Discovery Museum, Cisco Foundation, Noyce Foundation, Motorola Foundation, and Morgridge Family Foundation.

The Reynolds Center will we be working with Dedham Public Schools’ PK-8 STEM Curriculum Coordinator Linda Kobierski, PhD to develop a roll-out plan for the FabMaker Crew after-school program in concert with Dedham’s participating elementary schools’ principals and teachers. Further details about the FabMaker Crew program in Dedham’s elementary schools will be announced later this year.

FabMaker STEM Program Overview

One of the Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity (RC-TLC) signature accomplishments is the FabMaker Studio STEM Program, which is designed to bring meaningful, constructionist STEM education to learners (K-8) through 3D design and fabrication. This program was created in partnership with researchers at the University of Virginia’s Make to Learn Initiative, and is driven by a pursuit for equity and access around studies and careers in the STEM fields – starting with young learners, while their STEM self-identity is still forming and can be more easily influenced.

As the keystone tool in the Make to Learn Initiative, RC-TLC developed FabMaker Studio, an online tool that provides a more practical, affordable onramp to digital design and fabrication for learners and educators. FabMaker Studio features low-cost paper and cardstock, inexpensive digital cutters, and a range of easy-to-do activities that support STEM learning standards, and allows students to iterate multiple designs, and walk away with a finished project at the end of a session.

With financial assistance from the National Academy of Engineering, NSF, the U.S. Department of Education, as well as major foundations (MacArthur, Cisco, Motorola, Gates), along with support from U.S. Congressman Joe Kennedy, the Reynolds Center has set an ambitious goal of reaching 17 million underserved students by 2025. To achieve this scaling goal, is partnering with other like-minded organizations, such as La Fondation Dassault Systèmes®, who are equally committed to providing learners around the globe with access to these creative and transformational STEM tools.

About La Fondation Dassault Systèmes®

La Fondation Dassault Systèmes provides grants, training and expertise about 3D virtual universe technologies to help schools, universities, research centers, museums and associations in Europe, the U.S. and India to push the limits of knowledge. Its mission is to inspire young people with a passion for engineering, science and digital technology to create a better and more collaborative society. As part of this mission, it actively contributes to inventing new ways of sharing know-how and transforming learning practices that make it possible to detect new talents and help them achieve their dreams. For more information: lafondation3ds.org

About Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning and Creativity (RC-TLC)

The Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning and Creativity (RC-TLC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering creative, purposeful human potential around the globe. To that end, the Reynolds Center develops, tests and supports tools and programs that promote creativity and innovation in teaching and learning in both formal (school) and informal (museums, libraries, community centers) spaces with a focus on underserved, economically-disadvantaged communities around the globe.

Founded by New York Times #1 best-selling author/illustrator, Peter H. Reynolds (Judy Moody, The Dot, and The Word Collector,) and his twin brother and Co-Author Paul Reynolds (STEAM-Powered Adventures of Sydney & Simon, Going Places,) the Reynolds Center has garnered an international fanbase of teachers, librarians, students and families who resonate with its signature blend of stories, media, constructionist learning tools, and creativity programs.

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