Volkswagen Chattanooga and the Hamilton County Department of Education opened the Volkswagen eLab at Sale Creek Middle School on Tuesday. Hamilton County officials say they want students to be be more career-ready by helping them be on the cutting edge of technology.

Volkswagen eLabs, will give students access to science labs with rapid prototyping technologies (renewable energy components, laser cutters, CNC routers, 3D printers, robotics, microcomputers, and vinyl cutters). There are now eight such labs in Hamilton County Schools.

Volkswagen Chattanooga announced Tuesday that eight of its 16 eLabs are now fully operational in Hamilton County schools.

German automaker Volkswagen has partnered with Hamilton County Schools to open an eLab at Sale Creek Middle High School, part of a donation of $1 million donation by Volkswagen Chattanooga and the State of Tennessee. The new lab is the first of eight in Hamilton County, according to a news release.

Volkswagen Group of America Chattanooga Operations, LLC in partnership with the State of Tennessee and the Hamilton County Department of Education celebrated the grand opening of the Sale Creek Middle High School Volkswagen eLab during a ribbon cutting ceremony.

$1 million program established by the Volkswagen Group of America will give students in Hamilton County, Tennessee, hands-on access to digital fabrication tools like robotics, laser cutters, and programmable microcomputers. The automaker is partnering with the Hamilton County Department of Education to establish VW eLabs aimed at teaching twenty-first-century skills.

Hamilton County students head back to school in two weeks, some of their classrooms will be equipped with new, innovative technology.

Standing in the middle of a large room at Dalewood Middle School, principal Arielle Hayes announced that by the start of the next school year the bare space will be transformed into a state-of-the-art engineering lab.

Volkswagen Group of America, Chattanooga Operations and the State of Tennessee have named the first eight Hamilton County Department of Educatio schools to receive science laboratory equipment as part of the Volkswagen eLabs initiative.

Hamilton County students will learn hands-on engineering skills with the creation of new so-called Volkswagen eLabs in a $1 million effort between the automaker and the state, officials said Tuesday.