The Bucks County Intermediate Unit’s Fab Lab has received a $197,800 grant from Amazon to expand hands-on science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) education for students across Bucks County.
The grant was formally presented to the Bucks IU Fab Lab team during the organization’s Board of School Directors meeting Sept. 15. Funding will support three initiatives during the 2026-27 school year, including mobile lab visits to elementary schools, career-focused field trips and family STEAM events.
Since opening in December 2021, the Fab Lab has served as a regional hub for STEAM education, providing students and teachers access to equipment such as 3D printers, laser cutters and robotics tools. Its Mobile Fab Lab program brings that technology directly into local schools.
The Amazon grant will expand the program through weeklong residencies at elementary schools in five Bucks County school districts, giving students opportunities to participate in hands-on, project-based learning.
The funding will also support the Future Makers Field Trip Initiative, which will bring fifth-grade students from participating districts to the Fab Lab’s home site in Ivyland. Students will explore design thinking, prototyping and digital fabrication while learning about potential careers.
Last year, transportation and funding limitations restricted field trip participation to just one elementary school in the region. The new grant will give the five participating districts an opportunity to send all of their fifth-grade students.
A third initiative will introduce Family STEAM Nights, where students and their families can take part in hands-on activities and career exploration outside the school day.
“Every child deserves the chance to discover what they’re capable of building and creating,” said Dr. Lindsey Rutherford, director of STEAM Education at Bucks IU. “There’s nothing like watching a student’s eyes light up the moment they realize they can design and create something real with their own hands. That’s the moment that stays with them.”
Programming funded by the grant is expected to launch during the 2026-27 school year, with the Mobile Fab Lab Residencies beginning first.
For more information about the Bucks IU Fab Lab and its educational programs, visit bucksiu.org/fablab.
