Since November 2019, Pierce is the only school in Greece that has a Fab Lab for use by its students.
The Fab Lab (short for fabrication laboratory) is a new technologies workshop in which students learn by experimenting, using digital construction machinery and designing tools, to implement all their original ideas!
The space is equipped with 3D printers, a laser cutter, a 3D scanner, a vinyl cutter, a CNC machine, a robotics kits and an electronics workbench for experimenting with creative electronics, such as sensors, microcontrollers, conductive ink, e-textiles, etc. With its possibilities for digital construction and other cutting-edge technologies at students’ fingertips, the lab aims to familiarize students with technology and engineering, so that they understand Mathematics in depth and love the Arts and Sciences.
The activities that take place in the Fab Lab are based on an experiential, interdisciplinary approach, in which theory becomes practice, with the aim of cultivating 21st century skills, such as combinational and analytical thinking, collaboration, empathy, complex problem-solving, etc. At this time, the space is being used in B and C Gymnasium Technology classes, as well as in morning and after-school clubs.
The Fab Lab, as well as the also newly-established Makerspace, serve the new concept adopted by Pierce, i.e. the educational approach “learning by doing” in an attempt to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Secondary Education. The Pierce Fab Lab is a member of the international Fab Lab Network.