FAB26 Conference & Symposium – Reimagine the Future
Next July, we're all meeting at FAB26: the international Fab Conference & Symposium. See you there!
After a decade-long journey across the globe, the Fab Lab community returns to where it all began: the Greater Boston area. From FAB11 to FAB26 this homecoming is more than symbolic—it is a moment to reflect, reconnect, and project forward.
Next July, the IAAC – Fab Lab Barcelona will once again join what we consider one of the most meaningful gatherings of the year: FAB26. For our community, this is not simply a conference—it is a convergence of over 1,100 practitioners, researchers, and innovators from around the world. Across one week, ideas are exchanged, collaborations are formed, and perspectives are reshaped in ways that resonate long after the event concludes.
What awaits in 2026?
FAB26, hosted by The Fab Foundation, MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms, the MIT Museum, and Fab City, will take place from July 27–31, 2026 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Spanning nearly a full week, the program is designed as a rigorous yet dynamic exchange between theory and practice. It brings together a multidisciplinary audience united by a shared commitment to digital fabrication, technological innovation, and distributed production systems.
Participants will engage with the historical and contemporary fabric of Boston and Cambridge, crossing the Charles River as part of an experience that blends intellectual exploration with geographic context. Core activities will take place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus and Fab Hub Kendall, located within the globally recognized Kendall Square innovation district.
Why FAB26 matters
FAB26 embodies the evolving ethos of the Fab Lab movement: an interdisciplinary, globally distributed network advancing open knowledge, local production, and technological empowerment.
It is not merely a forum for presentation, but a living laboratory—where makers, educators, scientists, artists, policymakers, and industry leaders collectively interrogate and prototype the future of fabrication.
This year is especially significant as the network celebrates 25 years since its inception. It is both a milestone and a launchpad: an opportunity to critically assess past trajectories while co-designing the next quarter century of impact.
Program tracks
Origins & Futures
Embark on a reflective journey: the story of Fab past, present and future. Explore the origins of the Fab Lab movement at CBA and its global impact through tales of personal growth and community transformation—as well as future visions—from across the network.
Tools & Tech
Dive into the emerging tools and technologies that are transforming digital fabrication and reshaping society. From open-source machines to AI, quantum to space tech—what’s next is being made right now.
Education & Learning
Discover how digital fabrication is changing the way we learn, where we learn, learning models, and credentialing systems. From Academany to K-12 school programs, a new global education paradigm is on the horizon.
People & Planet
How can Fab Labs contribute to resilience, regeneration, and global social justice? We will explore how Fab City moves beyond individual projects to rethink how we produce, share, and sustain resources within our own bioregions.
Systems & Scaling
What will it take to grow and sustain the Fab ecosystem and the impact we make in our communities for the next 25 years? From policy to funding, standards to governance, we will look at big-picture systems and strategies to scale for global impact.
FAB26 is both a celebration and a critical inquiry—a space where the Fab Lab network not only gathers, but evolves.
Join us in shaping what comes next.