Crammed into Dawson School‘s small makerspace are three 3D printers, a laser cutter, a class set of desktop computers and big stacks of cardboard and wood.
More supplies are packed into the space beneath the computers. During classes, a big table in the middle of the room is usually covered in everything from tape, felt and cardboard to glue guns and small hand saws as students work on projects. A white board wedged in a corner shows project plans. Ongoing projects are stored in the teacher’s office or a small cabinet.
By fall, the school’s 500 students should have a lot more room to create, build and explore. As the last phase of its campus expansion, the private K-12 school in Lafayette is building a 24,500-square-foot, three-floor Innovation Center.
Longtime teacher Jeff Ellenbogen recently was named the school’s innovation and technology director, while Dawson is planning to hire a director for the new center.
“We are bursting at the seams in the makerspace,” Ellenbogen said. “One of the best things about the new Innovation Center is more room. It’s a place that will be dedicated to innovation. It’s really preparing students for a variety of future careers and passions that might not even exist yet.”
Based on enrollment growth and changes to the school’s program, Dawson in 2014 began working with Boulder County on a new campus master plan and, with county approval, started its first new construction in 20 years.
A building with a new dining hall plus class, event and meeting space opened in fall 2018. A new learning commons, housing the library and a student center, opened earlier this year. With its expected fall debut, the Innovation Center is set to open as the school celebrates its 50th anniversary.
“A lot of really exciting things are coming together,” said Dawson Headmaster George Moore. “What differentiates the Dawson Innovation Center is it’s not just a STEM building. Our dream is much bigger than that. All the various disciplines can come together to solve problems and do meaningful, relevant work. We want to make sure we’re creating the best possible program.”
Plans for the Innovation Center include science classrooms for middle and high school students, a makerspace, robotics teams headquarters, a flexible space, a rooftop deck and a welcome center with display space for rotating exhibits of student work.
“We can do all sorts of different programs that we can’t do now,” Ellenbogen said.
One idea for the space is to have professionals in the community set up a residency in the space, such as an engineer in residence or artist in residence.
Several Dawson students in the middle school Maker Workshop class, which recently made games out of microbits, said they’re looking forward to the Innovation Center’s opening.
“We do a lot of this stuff, and we don’t have much space,” said eighth grader Caden Darrin. “I’m very excited for the Innovation Center. It’s going to be very cool.”
Seventh grader Declan Noonan, who said he’s learned to use a new 3D printing program and a laser cutter in the class, noted there’s a second laser cutter, but no place to put it.
“The new space is going to be a lot bigger,” he said. “We need a lot more room.”
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January 05, 2020 at 10:01PM
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Dawson School expansion adds innovation center to Lafayette campus - Colorado Hometown Weekly
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