Unleash your creativity in a Fab Lab!
The Iowa City Fab Lab provides our local and surrounding area with the machines, products, talent and services which will allow creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, community, and invention to thrive and grow. We strive to make innovation, learning, and a love of science and technology an everyday occurrence. Read below to learn more about our tools, classes, and memberships!
Classes
The Iowa City Fab Lab offers classes that are open to the public. Most classes require no experience, with all materials provided. These classes aim to teach new creative skills for adults and kids, and allow community members to become more familiar with our equipment. You can browse our current class listing online to get a sense of the kinds of classes we offer. The Iowa City Fab Lab is always in search of instructors to provide new classes.
Membership
Membership offers individuals access to our tools to work on their own projects. Prior to using a tool, members should participate in the free introductory safety training for that area of the Lab.
Tools, Projects, and our Members
For even more information about tools, projects, and our members, check out the Resources tab.
What is a FAB LAB?
A fabrication laboratory is a place where anyone in the community can build, create, or invent and bring their projects to life in a supportive environment which encourages learning and experimenting, surrounded by creative, like-minded individuals.
The Fab Lab concept was started (and is perpetuated by) MIT. In 2007 Neil Gershenfeld started work on what he describes as the physical part of the digital revolution. He figured we were going through such a quantum shift in computing and electronics, that the physical aspects of the world needed to go through the same shift. Using high end electronics and tools, and started fabricating older items in a new, unique way. (continued below)
As he continued his experiments, he started teaching a class. “How to build (almost) anything”. He found that when people had access to tools and like-minded community, they came up with their own unique ways of solving problems and creating things for themselves, instead of creating to sell.
Dr. Gershenfeld continued to bring Fab Labs to other areas of the world. They set up shop in small and large areas alike, and offered accessible options to learn and practice with otherwise hard-to-access tools and machines. This newfound access has allowed for many to learn, experiment, and create communities of likeminded creatives over the years.
Fab Labs are a trademark and a brainchild of MIT, and is defined as a Maker Space which follows guidelines and practices set by MIT, in their “Center for Bits and Atoms”. To be a Fab Lab, you must meet certain criteria, and follow the Fab Lab Charter.