G.Wiz Museum to Launch Region's Only Fab Lab

SARASOTA - G.Wiz Science Museum announced that it is partnering with the Faulhaber Family Foundation to launch s unique innovation center -- the Faulhaber Fab Lab. It was designed to promote science literacy, cross-discipline collaboration and innovation throughout the area.  The project is the first of its kind in the region.

Chris Menzies, G.WIZ board member; Carol Blivas; Molly Morgan, executive director of G.WIZ; Ping Faulhaber and Dr. Fritz Faulhaber of the Faulhaber Family Foundation; Kelley Lear, G.WIZ board member; Don Blivas, G.WIZ board member.

The original concept was developed at MIT. Short for "fabrication laboratory,“ a fab lab is a place where the practical application of science, technology and craftsmanship finds a home according to Fritz Faulhaber. He recently utilized the Faulhaber Family Foundation to donate $400,000 to G.WIZ in order to launch the project.

”Although work in the fab lab will exploit the cyber world of computers and computer-guided machinery, the end result is a physical product, not merely a digital construction that ceases to exist when the electricity goes away,“ he said.

Faulhaber hopes that participants in the project will develop personal manufacturing skills where they can make custom prototypes using advanced tools – not manufacturing inexpensive bulk items for mass consumption.  He expects to foster innovation, art, learning, craftsmanship into the process so that the building of science demonstrations and experiments will also be fun.

”The main goal of the Faulhaber Fab Lab will be to nurture the inventors in all of us,“ said Molly Morgan, director of G.WIZ. ”We want to encourage the minds of all ages through hands-on experience. Think of it as a space where people from all kinds of backgrounds can collaborate, create and brainstorm. It’s really the workshop of the future.“

Faulhaber, a resident of Sarasota County, is president and CEO of The Faulhaber Group, is a leading innovator in the field of miniature and micro DC motion control.

The Faulhaber Fab Lab is scheduled to open in the spring of 2011. Groundbreaking will begin in November.

”We welcome the entire community to get involved,“ says Morgan. ”Once the lab is open, our staff will help train, mentor and support anyone who wants to experience it!“

 G.WIZ is a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1990 and moved into its current facility in 2000. The organization’s mission is to serve as a gateway for lifelong science careers and technology. G.WIZ is an avid supporter of science education in Sarasota County and the entire state of Florida. The museum serves 125,000 people each year -- 50,000 of these are school-age children. It is a member of Association of Science and Technology Centers, the Florida Association of Museums, and the Science and Environment Council of Sarasota County. It is located in Sarasota’s bayfront cultural district at The Blivas Science & Technology Center.