Add as a preferred source on Google

Shipping Container STEM Labs Head to Maryland and Texas

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 08/13/19

A nonprofit that develops STEM education programs has come up with portable learning spaces housed in shipping containers. The first new "Drop Anywhere Labs" will head to middle and high schools in Maryland and Texas this school year. The labs, which are produced by Learning Undefeated, an organization that serves high-needs communities with STEM experiences for students, are also intended to provide pop-up spaces for schools recovering from disasters.

The labs blend laboratory equipment and technology for augmented reality and game-based learning to support multiple themes: science, health, sustainability, technology, engineering and construction, energy and advanced manufacturing. Gear includes computing devices, virtual reality headsets, wind turbines, volt meters, microscopes, dissecting kits, microcentrifuges and general chemistry laboratory equipment.

"These new mobile labs serve as flexible laboratory and classroom space that triples our current capacity, enabling us to serve more than 80,000 students annually," said Brian Gaines, CEO of the nonprofit, in a statement. "Through our wide-ranging mobile lab program, we can provide equitable access to technology, and a solution to help schools more quickly regain normalcy following a natural disaster."

This isn't Learning Undefeated's first mobile STEM operation. The organization introduced the first mobile lab program for Maryland high school students in 2003 with its MdBioLab, a mobile disaster recovery STEM education program serving schools hit by hurricanes and other disasters. The larger Mobile eXploration Lab came out in 2017. Learning Undefeated said its mobile labs have served 200,000 K-12 students in 18 states to date, three-quarters of them from low-income school districts. Its Texas initiatives alone have reached 15,000 students in disaster-struck communities in 12 school districts.

With the three labs, Learning Undefeated projected that it would be able to serve an additional 60,000 students each year.

Funding for the latest project ($2.45 million) came from a number of supporters, including the states of Maryland and Texas, the Rebuild Texas Fund, the Qatar Harvey Fund, Toyota USA Foundation and pharma company AstraZeneca.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • UCNJ Launches $30M Modernization of Physical Education Center

    The Union College of Union County (UCNJ) in Cranford, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $30-million modernization project for its Physical Education Center (PECK), according to a news release. The college partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the project’s design, transitioning the existing 42,000-square-foot structure into a campus hub for student athletics and campus life.

  • Empowering People Through Smart, Sustainable Campuses

    Sustainability is facing increasing scrutiny, with some questioning its costs and priorities. Yet for universities, it remains an essential driver of resilience, operational efficiency and long-term competitiveness. At the same time, there is a growing recognition that sustainable transformation is not just about reducing energy consumption and emissions to comply with tightening regulations ‒ it’s about creating vibrant, comfortable environments where people can thrive, innovate and connect. For university leadership, this is a complex balancing act, with rising energy costs and limited budgets only adding to the challenge.

  • Three U.S. Universities Install Acre Security Access Control Platform

    Cloud-native physical and digital security solutions company Acre Security recently announced that it has deployed its access control platform at three major universities in the U.S., according to a news release. Acre partnered with Atrium Campus to provide coverage for more than 69,000 students at the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University, and Rockhurst University.

  • concentric silhouettes of a human head

    How Physical Space Shapes the Mind: Designing for Better Learning Outcomes

    Research in environmental psychology and neuroscience increasingly suggests that the way a room is designed can influence memory, focus, or even a student's sense of belonging.

Digital Edition