Wednesday, August 17:
St. Petersburg College Innovation Lab – St. Petersburg
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After a quick trip across Central Florida to the West Coast, the group spent the afternoon at the “Innovation Lab” at St. Petersburg College. Created by chief librarian, musician and “tech geek” Chad Mairn, the Innovation Lab is a collaborative learning environment (oftentimes referred to as a “technology playground”) where people of all ages and with similar interests in science, technology, engineering, digital arts, and math can meet, socialize and/or collaborate while sharing ideas and learning new skills. There are no judgements, no grades; users are encouraged to color outside the lines.
The Innovation Lab offers Video Game Design, Robotics, 3D Design/Printing, Circuitry/Electronics, Virtual Reality, Drone Building, Video/Audio Editing, and has many other educational opportunities currently in the works, including CoderDojo (coding workshops) and a NASA-funded communications platform for communicating with the International Space Station. |
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After an introduction and discussion by Chad about the concept of a “Makerspace”, the “fun” part of the afternoon began as the Tech Talent crew was joined by SPC students, who brought their own high-tech projects for demonstration and interaction. Micro:bit modules and iPads provided opportunities for some hands-on activities.
The group got to try out some new brainwave technology with a drone, advanced 3-D printing, and got deep inside the inner workings of an old shortwave radio! Using new virtual reality software and equipment gave the Tech Talent team an opportunity to put the “A” in STEAM, when they used the VR tools to create designs and messages on the big screen. |
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An unexpected bonus was the opportunity to ask questions of two volunteers who were manning an early voting booth for the Florida primary elections – both of whom were amazed and delighted to explain their work to the Tech Talent 2022 team.