Skip to content

State Visibility for Fab Lab

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Fox Valley Technical College’s Fab Lab landed front-page coverage this week in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel for their impact on 3D prototype innovations.

One of these innovations is a prosthetic wrist and hand that was made in FVTC’s Mechanical Design Technology Fab Lab for a young girl in Pittsburgh who was born with a deformed hand. In addition, students in this Fab Lab are building a waterwheel model for the Paper Discovery Center in Appleton as part of another end-of-year project. The scaled waterwheel will replicate the operational functions of a real-life unit that is used to generate energy.

FVTC’s Business & Community Fab Lab was also featured in the prominent article. Efforts out of this Fab Lab focus on supporting inventor ideas with the use of several resources and equipment, in addition to STEM-related initiatives—including the popular Electric Guitar-Building classes. Both Fab Labs house state-of-the-art technology for anyone desiring to create a product prototype.

The first Fab Lab in the state was developed at FVTC in 2007 with support from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Bits and Atoms.

Read more >>

Related Articles

Read more
Friday | August 7, 2026

Communication Skills Instructor Shares AI Teaching Strategies at National Conference

Communication Skills Instructor Jenny Heinritz represented Fox Valley Technical College at the Building Blackboard Together conference in Dallas, Texas, where she presented on how FVTC is using AI tools to support student learning. Jenny shared how the Communication Skills team has spent the past two years testing and improving AI-powered conversations in Blackboard to make

Students testing virtual reality goggles Read more
Friday | February 20, 2026

FVTC Transformed into a STEM Playground

For two days, FVTC’s Appleton campus became a giant interactive science festival for 1,400+ area sixth and seventh graders. In partnership with Michigan Tech Mind Trekkers, the college hosted STEM Possible Fest for students to explore nearly 60 hands-on STEM stations. Students rotated through activities that blended science, technology, engineering and math. Each one was

A woman wearing goggles stands in the foreground with two men and a toolbox in the background Read more
Tuesday | February 4, 2025

AI in the Toolbox

Just as a wrench or a hammer is a tool in a toolbox, so too is machine learning. And though it is new and relatively uncharted territory, leaders and faculty members at Fox Valley Technical College are dedicated to not only finding innovative ways to teach our students, but also how to model ethical behavior