Many Hamilton County Schools are busy this week, hosting the 5th annual Chattanooga Fabrication Institute.

Chattanooga is emerging as the world-leader in K-12 digital fabrication education.

For three days, the digital fabrication conference offers teachers hands-on learning experiences with 3D printing, laser engraving, vinyl cutting, and more in Hamilton County's ever-expanding Volkswagen eLabs, now featured in 36 elementary, middle and high schools.

Michael Stone, Vice President of Innovative Learning at the Public Education Foundation said, "We have over 160 educators from 17 states and two countries, we have people from Colorado, New Hampshire, and even Nigeria."

Hamilton County schools, the Public Education Foundation, Volkswagen, and other partners are taking the E-labs globally.

The Fab Foundation at MIT has invited two Hamilton County educators to an international summit in Bhutan in Southeast Asia.

Michael Stone, Director of Innovative Learning for the PEF, said, “Tony Donen and I will be co-presenting at an international conference in Bhutan with a team from Finland and share how we are working to provide the best possible experience in these labs.”

It’s a sign of the times, eLabs are a vital part of education at all levels these days. Thanks to PEF and Volkswagen Chattanooga, Hamilton County Schools has cut the ribbon on a dozen new eLabs.

Robin Bambrey is the Principal at Hardy Elementary School. She says, “We are beyond excited and honored to be part of such a wonderful group of schools, that allow children to have the opportunity to engage in things like coding and engineering.”

Hamilton County elementary schools are now the first elementary schools in Tennessee with onsite digital fabrication spaces or eLabs.

To commemorate, officials held a ribbon-cutting Monday at Hardy Elementary in Chattanooga, where they formally announced the expansion of 12 new eLabs, including the first nine in the state to be integrated into elementary schools. They join 24 other eLabs in the Hamilton County school district, comprising the largest network in the world.

"What this does is bring a hands-on learning experience and creates more opportunities for elementary students to connect to this kind of learning," Superintendent Justin Robertson said to a small gathering at the ceremony. "What is especially interesting about being at Hardy right now is that these students, starting in grade kindergarten, will be able to go on a trajectory through 12th grade where they will have access to an eLab at every stop on their educational journey.

Educators from 17 states visited Chattanooga for a 3-day, one-of-a-kind conference where they engage with hands-on experiences in VW eLabs.

The Chattanooga Fabrication Institute, a three-day seminar at which educators from across the nation gain hands-on digital fabrication experience, kicked off Monday at the Chattanooga Whiskey Event Hall.

During the conference, attendees visit Hamilton County Schools' various Fab Labs to learn how to use emergent technologies, like 3D and laser printing, and bring those lessons and skills back to their classrooms.

This year marks the seminar's fourth anniversary and its first sold-out event with 150 attendees from 17 states.

STEM School sophomore Abbie Madewell sat in the design studio, 3D printing a doughnut shape to make into an eyeball for her project.

Another group of STEM School students in the workshop - the next room over - gathered around a table covered with felt and colorful spools of thread. Elliot, a scarecrow with a body made out of felt, had a 3D-printed head.

STEM School students worked on the fall and Halloween-themed projects in the Global Center for Digital Innovation - billed as the first K-14 digital fabrication center in the world, and unveiled Wednesday at Chattanooga State Community College in collaboration with Hamilton County Schools and the Public Education Foundation.

In partnership with Volkswagen, the Chattanooga district operates 32 e-labs across all of its elementary, middle, and high schools. The goal is to develop essential workforce skills like communication and problem-solving as students learn to design and test prototypes through digital fabrication technologies.

Middle and high school students from schools across Hamilton County talked Wednesday with teachers about their experiences working in eLabs on the final morning of the Chattanooga Fabrication Institute. Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences teacher Jennifer Mitchell introduced students Taylor Bowles and Jamie Hayes, both 18, who discussed how the eLab inspired them to become biomedical engineers. Projects they worked on included an architecture project for geometry class, making T-shirts and lip balms, along with helping other students use the lab. "We had our very first project done in there, and then it was to the point where we were helping younger kids, like the elementary students," Bowles told the audience at Chattanooga Whiskey Event Hall. "Really the eLab was a place for people of any age. We had elementary students come in there, and we were helping them with different projects."

The third annual Chattanooga Fabrication Institute will gather nearly 200 educators in Chattanooga, Monday-Wednesday. The Public Education Foundation, in partnership with Hamilton County Schools and Volkswagen Group of America, is hosting this one-of-a-kind professional development experience in the world-leading VW and HCS eLabs in Hamilton County Schools. The institute is made possible thanks to the support of Volkswagen Group of America.