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Where Technology & Design Meet:
Shady Side Academy’s Glimcher Tech & Design Hub
P
hysics students building solar-powered mini-cars. Latin
students creating laser-cut curse tablets. Spanish students
3D-printing Day of the Dead masks. Computer science students
building robots.
These are just a few projects happening in Shady Side Academy’s
Glimcher Tech & Design Hub, a $2.9 million facility dedicated to
innovation, creativity, technology and design. The 12,000-square-foot
space, which opened this fall on SSA’s 130-acre Senior School campus
in Fox Chapel, includes a Fabrication and Robotics Wing, Computer
Science Wing and café.
The Fabrication and Robotics Wing houses a fabrication lab, robotics
arena, workshop, wet lab and collaboration room and is equipped
with a CNC mill, CNC router, laser cutter, vinyl cutter, garment printer,
table saw, 3D resin printer, three 3D printers, and augmented, mixed
and virtual reality technology. The maker spaces are open to students
and teachers of all disciplines and experience levels. They also provide
a state-of-the-art workspace for the Robotics and Science Olympiad
teams.
The Computer Science Wing has two spacious computer classrooms
and a collaboration lounge equipped with computers, laptops and
interactive SMART Boards. It serves as home to SSA’s Computer
Science Department, which offers courses in game design, mobile app
development, artificial intelligence, robotics, 3D modeling, computer
architecture and more.
Jesse Robinson, Director of the Glimcher Tech & Design Hub, is
spearheading efforts to integrate the new facility into the curriculum.
He hosts a “Maker Monday” professional development series for
faculty and partners with teachers to brainstorm class projects – from
a German class creating laser-cut German Christmas pyramids to a
metalwork class 3D-printing resin casting molds for pewter artwork.
“Learning by doing and project-based learning are so important.
You see levels of engagement from students go up as they start
tinkering and making things, and there’s a bigger connection between
the student and the work,” says Robinson. “The Hub really provides a
space for teachers to augment their existing curriculum, to break the
boundary of the classroom and go into this collaborative beautiful
space that promotes creativity and innovation.”
The Glimcher Tech & Design Hub has opened up a world of
possibilities for student independent study projects. Junior Eve Mango
is creating an interactive living wall of plants that will use technology
to monitor moisture and sunlight. Junior Erin Canning is learning
foundry techniques and using the CNC mill to fabricate reusable water
bottles from recycled aluminum cans. And sophomore Angela Xue will
combine woodworking, electronics and coding to create magic wands
with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for a Harry
Potter-themed library scavenger hunt.
Mango says the facility is inspiring more students to think about
independent study projects. “My friend was talking to me about
possibly doing something with design, and it’s nothing I’ve ever heard
from her before. This place is so inspiring that I think it makes people
want to come.”
Connecting the two wings is the SSA Café, which serves drinks
and snacks and has quickly become a popular hangout. Large glass
windows allow students in the café to see what’s happening in the
robotics and fabrication areas.
“At Shady Side we have always thought of ourselves as problem-
solvers, and we teach critical thinking and problem-based learning
throughout our curriculum,” says Senior School Head Sophie Lau. “But
this is a whole new venue for kids to solve problems and to use new
tools to do that.”
“This is a game-changing space for Shady Side,” says Academy
President Bart Griffith. “I can’t wait to see the creativity it inspires and
the potential it unleashes in our students.”
Learn more at www.shadysideacademy.org/seniorschool or call the
Senior School Admissions Office at 412.968.3180 to schedule a tour.
NORTH ALLEGHENY
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WINTER 2019
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