CLAB

Aiming to respond to technological and environmental trends in the educational field and challenges through innovation in circular and open manufacturing processes.

The Challenge

Contribute to education equity and respond to global challenges such as the necessary digitalization to improve academic results and prevent early school dropout, promoting the generation of projects with active and competency-based methodologies. In addition, approach its entire development from a sustainable perspective to address environmental warnings, increasing awareness and action responsibility among the different stakeholders involved.

Our Solution

Carrying out an industrial research project to develop and prototype a set of resources, digital technologies and tools. Aimed towards creating active learning activities in educational centres in a sustainable, ecological and green way in order to guide them on their path towards circularity. With the intention of promoting a generation of sustainable maker projects in educational centres.

Type of Project

CLAB is a collaborative project driven by AEI KID’S CLUSTER, Anthesis Lavola, eSTEAM Education, Fundació Bofill, Habilis (Cooperativa Abacus) and Fab Lab Barcelona (IAAC).

A project funded by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism of Spain, as well as by the European Union through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

Project Outputs/Applied Technologies

The project outputs include the Circular Lab MODEL repository, open-source 3D printing tools, low-cost environmental data and IoT sensors, didactic units, a co-creation process with teachers, and a comprehensive analysis of circular economy principles applied to the Circular Lab MODEL.

The Project

The project outputs of the Circular Lab (CLAB) project include effective project management and coordination throughout the execution of all activities and the validation of deliverables. This involves preparation of technical reports, minutes, and reports that allow monitoring the correct development of the project. Another output of the project is the research and development of a set of resources, technologies, and tools capable of providing existing infrastructures such as Fab Labs or Pop-up labs, with a model for circular activity development. This includes the development of new open-source 3D printing tools and low-cost environmental data and sensors (IoT), as well as the conceptualization of the Circular Lab MODEL, a repository with all necessary information for design, development, and implementation to replicate and scale the project.

Another output of the project is the transfer of IAAC’s knowledge about the Circular Lab and new open digital tools and resources for working with data and sensors, as well as additive manufacturing with bioplastics into didactic units, which will be presented in an entertaining and understandable way on an open and interactive consultation, training, and dissemination platform. The project also aims to bring the developments made in previous sections to teachers and test and validate their usefulness through a co-creation process and a questionnaire to analyze the validity of the content. The final output of the project is the integration of circular economy principles into the Circular Lab MODEL and testing its implementation in real situations, with a comprehensive analysis of circular economy and best practices taking into account environmental, social, and economic aspects.

The applied technologies in this project include 3D printing tools and low-cost environmental data and sensors (IoT), and bioplastics for additive manufacturing. The project also involves the use of an open and interactive consultation, training, and dissemination platform to present the knowledge about the Circular Lab and new open digital tools and resources in an entertaining and understandable way. The co-creation process with teachers and the analysis of the validity of the content through a questionnaire also form part of the applied technologies in the project.

Our Contribution

Circular Lab is a toolkit to promote environmentally conscious maker and STEAM practices to secondary schools. It includes an open-source 3D printer for biomaterials and an environmental sensor toolkit.