IMAG History & Science Center and the Edison Inventors Association (EIA) have agreed to collaborate on establishing a Fab Lab in Fort Myers. A Fab Lab is a collaborative space for learning, problem-solving and creating through using off-the-shelf, industrial-grade fabrication and electronics tools operated by open source software and programs.
The Fab Lab will be located at IMAG, and will further its efforts to advance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) literacy. It will also serve as a community resource for area entrepreneurs, and members of the public who want to explore fabrication and invention possibilities.
“IMAG is excited to partner with EIA to bring a Fab Lab to Southwest Florida. The educational and economic development opportunities a Fab Lab creates will support the 21st century vision of Southwest Florida,” said IMAG Executive Director Matt Johnson.
EIA members will be instrumental in serving as technical experts. Through their partnership to create a Fab Lab, IMAG and EIA will leverage their respective core strengths to positively impact education and workforce development, economic development and the community at large.
Jesse Morgan, a long-standing board member of EIA, said, “Our group consists of entrepreneurs, inventors, business professionals and those curious about how to take a concept to market. We assist one another in advancing our ideas, inventions and product innovations. Helping to create an organization that will teach and empower young people, entrepreneurs and community members is in direct alignment with the tenets of our group.”
MIT Professor Neil Gershenfeld, a scientist and inventor, formed the concept for Fab Lab after offering a course called “How to Make (Almost) Anything,” which was met with overwhelming demand.
