For an independent school to create a full-fledged Innovation Lab typically associated with STEM or engineering schools may have seemed like a daunting task.
This wasn’t the case for Nansemond-Suffolk Academy (NSA), based in Norfolk, Virginia. NSA set off to create an innovative, collaborative learning environment that all students can take advantage of, no matter their grade level or area of study, the school built a sophisticated Innovation Lab. The result is a lab that has become an epicenter of excitement on campus.
NSA took technologies once traditionally considered vo-tech or industrial arts and built an entirely new model for a liberal arts education. The school’s Innovation Lab features 3D printers that offer a wide variety of printable materials, a 3D scanner, laser cutters, a vacuum former, an injection molder, and a CNC router, mill and lathe.
The lab doesn’t discriminate by subject matter or grade level – all are welcome. Several educators are involved in using the lab, from art to science to engineering to history.
While students in the Lower School are introduced to a variety of new technologies, students in the Upper School are not only achieving more advanced applications, but also charged with designing new ways to engage younger students in the lab. Independent study and internships programs have proven to inspire a newfound autonomy and responsibility in these Upper School students.
To learn more about the equipment in NSA’s lab, how the lab was developed, and how students are using the lab today, download our case study here.
