Many of our Georgia AIM Week events this year included tools and technology demos from Fort Valley State University’s Mobile STEM Lab. This trailer, outfitted with 3D printers, laser cutters, and other tools for digital fabrication, is the outreach arm of Fort Valley State’s Fab Lab.

Located at Fort Valley’s Warner Robins Center and led by director Heaven Whitby, the Fab Lab serves not only university students and faculty but also K-12 students, teachers, entrepreneurs, and community members across Middle Georgia. Opened in March 2024 through a partnership between Fort Valley State University, the Fab Foundation, and Chevron, it’s the first Fab Lab at a historically black college or university — and a model for expanding access to technology and hands-on STEM learning.

Thanks to Georgia AIM’s support, Whitby was able to purchase and outfit both the Mobile STEM Lab and a companion Agri-Tech Mobile Lab. Together, they bring advanced learning tools directly to schools and communities that may otherwise not have access to them.

Whitby brings both art and STEM experience to her role and approaches the lab as a lifelong learner. She says she wants to make technology approachable to everyone, especially those who might not see themselves represented in STEM fields.

“I really want people to see outside the ‘schoolness’ of learning STEM and being a part of STEM,” she said in a 2024 interview with the Fab Foundation. “Especially when it comes down to the Black experience in STEM, I want them to understand that they can do this, no matter who they are and where they’re coming from.”

All you need is an idea, she says, and the Fab Lab can you bring it to life.

Whitby said she wants the Fab Lab to be more than a facility. Rather, she sees it as a hub for creativity and community innovation. It’s a space that’s redefining who has access to technology and making learning joyful, experimental, and inclusive. During Georgia AIM Week, her demonstrations drew students and adults alike, showing how technology and creativity can merge in real time.

At one stop, Whitby showed how a 3D printer can turn a digital design into a tangible object using free, open-source tools. At another, she passed around pieces of red acrylic to show the precision and possibilities of a laser cutter.

The impact was immediate. At Effingham College and Career Academy, students crowded around Whitby as she talked about the laser cutter, asking increasingly technical questions.

“How do you clean it?” one student asked. “Can I connect it to my laptop, or does it need to be connected to a desktop?” asked another.

Whitby said she’s no longer surprised when students want to talk shop.

“It seems that actually the kids are even more ahead than we even noticed,” she said. “Not only do they know what we’re talking about already, they know about even more because they’re connected virtually to a global network of makers and doers.”

Each summer, she attends an international Fab Lab conference to explore emerging technologies and find new ways to bring these innovations to Georgia classrooms. She received a boost through Georgia AIM’s statewide effort to connect communities to advanced manufacturing and workforce innovation, but it’s the students who continue to keep her on her toes.

“I’m always shocked at first when I see overseas all the newer things that haven’t made it to us yet. But the kids are not surprised,” she said.