California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) is gaining a fleet of four fabrication laboratories, or “fab labs,” that are part of a global network of 900 mobile labs. Local middle school students in Los Angeles County will soon be able to visit a fab lab to build STEM skills first-hand through experiments and activities. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The fab labs were created by CSUDH with help from Toyota, the W.M. Keck Foundation and Motivo Engineering to address several issues described as “the heart of the STEM crisis” by the organizations:
- The need for qualified science and math teachers in K–12;
- A lack of STEM experiences that engage students; and
- A demand for more minorities graduating with STEM degrees and pursuing related work.
