A FabLab (fabrication laboratory) is a workshop equipped with digital fabrication devices, like 3D printers, plotters, digital cutters, as well as hand tools (hammers, screwdrivers, saws). In FabLab, you design, tinker, and build various objects. Thanks to having access to so many tools and materials, you can make almost every idea come true in here.
The EduFactory in Copernicus Science Centre is an educational FabLab, operating according to the postulates of constructionist pedagogy. This approach accentuates personal experience and engagement. Gaining knowledge and skills happens through group work, in a process of creative and practical action.
Participants of the process (students, pupils of local community centres, clubs) – moderated by the tutor (design thinking method) – independently define problems and look for solutions together. Then, based on the developed ideas, they design and construct objects that solve the problem and test their effectiveness. Finally, they think about how to improve and rebuild them. The whole process contributes to a deep understanding of the challenges taken and one's own work, becoming an effective method of learning. Moreover, independent activity of young people helps them to believe in themselves and their own abilities. In such conditions, they gain equal development opportunities (process of social inclusion). They also discover the practical dimensions of the developed competences, because here education is combined with everyday life and the labor market environment.