Hardy Elementary
K-5
The Hardy Elementary VW eLab is an innovation hub fostering creative problem-solving and hands-on STEM learning. Students engage in design-thinking and digital fabrication using 3D printers, Glowforge laser cutters, and robotics like Dash and Dot bots, Bee-Bots, and Micro:bits. Through project-based learning and support from Volkswagen and Public Education Forward, our lab bridges core academics with real-world engineering to prepare future innovators.
Lab description
Grade Levels:
VW eLab Specialist
David Jackson
David is a dedicated VW eLab Specialist and educator at Hardy Elementary, passionate about hands-on STEM learning. He creates engaging opportunities for students through robotics, coding, and digital fabrication with 3D printers and laser cutters. Beyond the lab, David coaches our student robotics team and battery-powered car club, fostering teamwork, problem-solving, and practical engineering skills.
Impact
The Hardy Elementary VW eLab is a vibrant hub for hands-on STEM learning, engineering design, and digital fabrication. This eLab has been 4 years in the making. Today, the impact of our lab is evident across three specific examples:
Equitable Engineering Access: Students who previously missed out on foundational tech are now actively utilizing 3D printers, laser cutters, and Micro:bits to bring complex project ideas to life.
Inclusive Problem-Solving: We have successfully integrated adaptive engineering, such as designing customized 3D-printed assistive tools (like a foot-pedal beanbag thrower) to ensure students with physical differences can fully participate in physical education and maker-space activities.
Collaborative Innovation: Through our restored robotics and battery-powered car clubs, students collaborate closely, troubleshoot real-world mechanical challenges, and build peer leadership skills. Thanks to community support from partners like Volkswagen and PEF, a renewed commitment to hands-on education, our VW eLab has transformed a regular classroom into an active engine for student empowerment, equity, and future workforce readiness.
Project Highlights
1. Assistive Technology Design: Inclusive Playground Launcher Students identified a real-world barrier facing a classmate using a wheelchair who couldn't fully participate in physical education games. Using OpenSCAD and Tinkercad, students applied the engineering design process to draft, prototype, and 3D print a customized, foot-pedal-activated beanbag launcher. Learning Outcomes: Students gained practical experience with spatial geometry, CAD modeling, and iterative prototyping. More importantly, they learned how human-centered design and empathy in engineering can solve real accessibility challenges in their community.
2. Early Computational Thinking: Bee-Bot Navigation & Mapping To introduce foundational programming without requiring screens, primary students designed physical floor maps and created algorithms to direct Bee-Bot floor robots through specific paths and obstacles. Learning Outcomes: Students developed core computational concepts including directional sequencing, debugging, and step-by-step logic. Working in collaborative pairs taught them how to analyze code errors in real time and communicate solutions effectively.
3. Rapid Prototyping & Fabrication: Custom Vector Engraving Upper-grade students learned vector graphics design using SVG files to create customized structural components on our Glowforge laser cutter. Students translated 2D digital artwork into physical 3D assemblies, balancing material constraints, measurements, and precision joints. Learning Outcomes: Students master digital illustration software, key concepts of scale and tolerance, and digital manufacturing workflows. They saw firsthand how classroom concepts in math and geometry apply directly to modern manufacturing techniques.
