Welcome to Fab Lab ICC |
Top 10 Things to Know About Fab Lab ICC
by Jim Correll, Director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas
We opened October 1, 2014; the first at a Kansas community college
The new equipment was purchased with a Kauffman grant and local matching donations
In an initial space, formerly Cessna Learning Center, was underutilized
Our mission is about improving the self-efficacy of all--people of all ages and all walks of life--that experience our programs and services.
This supports the prime tenets of the college mission about academics, cultural enrichment and economic development
Our expansion building grand opening was October 1, 2018.
Resources for the expansion building came about in two years, starting in March 2016
Including $350,000 from the federal Economic Development Administration
Individuals and the college
At nearly 15,000 sf, we'll be the largest maker space in markets our size, in fact
We believe no other market <50,000 has this much maker space, offering
Entrepreneurs Bullpen, new co-working space
14’ x 24’ state of the art paint and coatings booth
Multi-process welding stations
Lighted workbenches
Storage lockers for rent for tools and projects
Digital Design Studio to house our wide, laser and 3D printers
We are open to the public through membership fees; $125 annually for individuals
We aspire to be a national leader in combining entrepreneurship with the Fab Lab experience
We have tools and services for business growth not available to many small businesses, especially in rural communities
We are currently working with six inventors in various stages of going to market
Our first success, Tim Voegeli, dba Tubeless Solutions, came to us from Wichita before 3D printed prototypes were available there.
Our Women 4 Women program ($82k Kauffman supported) seeks to lower barriers to women getting into full or part time business.
Just purchased a van for conversion into mobile Fab Lab
We've logged over 20,000 visits since we opened on October 1, 2014
We believe that entrepreneurship provides the best hope for prosperity in the new economy
We aspire to be a national leader in changing work force training in small rural community colleges to make local industries more competitive
We're launching a pilot called "Fab Force" currently
We believe every rural community in Kansas should have maker space
We host two boot camps per year for community leaders from around Kansas and the United States to show them how we launched
We provide Boot and STEM camp services to about 200 youth each the summer
Weekly boot camps in collaboration with Greenbush education cooperative
3-week long STEM camp for 100 middle school girls thanks to a nearly $100k grant from the Verizon Foundation, one of just 16 such camps conducted in the US this summer
Owned by the college, we strive to operate as a small business, using generated revenue and offer budget relief to the college
Other than salaries, space and utilities (substantial support by the college) we generate our own revenue through memberships, material sales and grants for all our supplies, repairs and new equipment purchases