UCI Mobile Rocket and FAB Lab team up for summer STEM activities

By Clayten W. Eggleston, Americorps VISTA Member, OC STEM. 

My role at the Orange County STEM Initiative is to help facilitate the launch of the Mobile Rocket and Fab Lab (MFL) initiative: a 40-foot by 9-foot airstream trailer housed at the Samueli School of Engineering at University California, Irvine (UCI). The on-board equipment includes a MUSE laser cutter, two Flashforge creator pro 3D printers, and our Raspberry Pi3 station that runs both the Sonic Pi and Apollo-Soyuz simulation programs. Through this initiative, the MFL, along with our team of undergraduates from UCI and Orange County STEM affiliates, is deployed into the community to promote STEM preparedness. This project is made possible through a partnership between the Orange County STEM Initiative, the Samueli Foundation, the Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine, and the Orange County Department of Education, staying true to the OC STEM vision of combining public and private entities in order to foster a more STEM literate Orange County.

The MFL allows advanced programming and manufacturing equipment to be brought directly to schools and community events within Orange County. We show learners and educators that the creative possibilities are endless in STEM. Indeed, the MFL team emphasizes the use of informal experiences to promote STEM and focuses on play as a component of the STEM education continuum.

I always like to see how the MFL does at events that are not strictly geared towards STEM; non-STEM events not only give us the chance to see how captivating our activities are to a general audience, but also, from an exposure standpoint, these events allow for MFL to reach more people, especially those who might not otherwise experience advance manufacturing equipment like laser cutters and 3D printers.

My first MFL experience was on March 23, 2018. The event was hosted at Marco Forster Middle School in the Capistrano Unified School District. I’ll admit, it was daunting—at the time I had never even seen a Raspberry Pi3 or a 3D printer. I grew more comfortable talking with students, parents, and teachers about, largely due to the fact that some shared these same feelings of uncertainty. I continue to feel a connection with new learners, because I’m a new STEM learner myself.

From teachers and educators, to parents and students, for those new to coding or digital making, it is important to emphasize failure. At OC STEM we promote the importance of communicating that failure is a vital component in the STEM education continuum, just as much a part of it as play is. Whenever one discusses the facilitation of a coding club or digital making course, understand that all parties must be prepared to be wrong.