Design Lab
CPA upper school students have a new space
for STEM exploration, and it looks a little
different than the typical classroom. The
lab sports open, shared working spaces,
engineering bays, a whiteboard wall, and
colorful engineering props for robotics
experimentation.
Home to the school’s new robotics program,
the lab gives students the opportunity to
design, build, and test robots as part of the
nationwide VEX robotics
program. Generously funded
by two anonymous
donors, the
school has
designated the
Design Lab as a
space in which
students can
discover God’s unique and
natural intricacy through authentic
exploration of science, technology, engineering
and math.
“Design is not done in a vacuum; it is meant
to take place in community. This space lends
a hand to 21st century collaboration, and our
students have a real passion for looking into
the world around them and problem solving.
In their observations, we want to train them to
see interesting patterns, problems, and paths to
solutions,” explains Instructor of US Math and
Robotics Madison Knowe.
Knowe identifies question asking and
problem solving as the core principals for
robotics. In designing a robot or programming
a device to perform a certain task, they begin
to see their environment as engineers: full of
room for improvement. The robotics team
claims Isaiah 1:17 as their team verse, as they
“learn to do good, seek justice and correct
oppression.”
“Our designs do not always have to serve
us, but can also serve others. When they look
at it through that lens, it’s exciting for them to
think about creating things that solve hunger,
injustice, or oppression,” said Knowe.
Also opening this year is a Lower School
STEAM Lab, located next to the LS Library,
renovated to be a space for creative exploration.
Overseeing the lower school’s new design space
is LS STEAM Lab Instructor Ian Mullins-
Zugelder: “For too long the arts have lived in
isolation from other academic disciplines—
especially science and math. This division
proved to be a huge disservice to thousands of
children who thought they had to choose sides.
8
SEPTEMBER 2017
“Design is not done
in a vacuum;
it is meant to take place
in community.”
Our STEAM Lab will break down the pre-
supposed walls between science, technology,
engineering, art, and math and will provide
our students with unique, engaging, hands-
on learning opportunities. By embracing new
technologies and strategies of thinking, our
students are prepared to become the makers
that will shape an ever-changing world.”
Over the course of the last year school year,
LS students participated in the vision and
building of the space. The LS administration
is excited to use the lab as a place for students
to gather, create, invent, tinker, explore, and
discover.