ANNOUNCEMENT: Tri-Valley STEM Center Receives Initial $500,000 in Funding From Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty
May News: Robot Garden signs lease on new hangar space to run STEM Center programs at Livermore Airport.
April News: Robot Garden receives grant from Sandia National Laboratories to advance Girl Scout STEM activities.
March News: Robot Garden makerspace awarded grant from Sandia Labs to further their Girl Scout robotics programs.
February News: Robot Garden recruiting for volunteer committee members to build on airport's south side.
January News: Robot Garden meets with Livermore City Planning Department to flesh out details.
December News: Robot Garden preparing revised proposal to build even larger facility on airport's south side.
April News: Robot Garden receives grant from Sandia National Laboratories to advance Girl Scout STEM activities.
March News: Robot Garden makerspace awarded grant from Sandia Labs to further their Girl Scout robotics programs.
February News: Robot Garden recruiting for volunteer committee members to build on airport's south side.
January News: Robot Garden meets with Livermore City Planning Department to flesh out details.
December News: Robot Garden preparing revised proposal to build even larger facility on airport's south side.
Welcome to the new Tri-Valley STEM Center
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We're working to build a dedicated nonprofit youth-oriented informal STEM learning center & makerspace at the Livermore Municipal Airport. We're building a hangar with up to 45,000 sqft of classrooms, meeting rooms, workspace, tools & equipment ready for STEM projects, technical career training, and product prototyping. We are using the wonder and awe of aviation & aerospace to inspire & engage youth & young adults interested in high paying STEM careers. We're using project based learning and informal STEM activities to provide workforce development and help youth decide on a career path. With aviation & aerospace as the primary focus area we are creating a pipeline of youth interested in exploring the many career options in these fields. We're inviting dozens of nonprofit youth, STEM, hobby, aviation and aerospace groups to run their programs out of the same facility. There will be classes, camps, activities, presentations, lectures, competitions & projects galore! We'll accommodate existing youth STEM programs that normally have to scramble for space and resources - Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H, Coderdojo & others. They'll be able to earn badges and other achievement awards. We'll provide meeting space and work space to competitive STEM teams from FIRST Lego League to Destination Imagination so they can more easily design, build and test their creations. We're including an aviation-focused makerspace with basic shop tools as well as advanced manufacturing tools - 3D printers; CNC routers; welders; oscilloscopes; air tools; laser, plasma & waterjet cutters. Youth can learn new skills while building real airplanes, or creations of their own design. STEM in action - in a facility that's available 24/7/365. There is a very active community of aircraft builders at the Livermore Airport. In fact, the Livermore Airport is the third most active airport in the USA in terms of homebuilt airplane builds. Interested youth can learn to build & maintain real airplanes and many other technical creations. Read up on our success stories. Then join us! |
Youth are naturally drawn to the wonders of aviation and aerospace. Activities at the new hangar will be geared to inspire, motivate, energize and guide youth towards careers in STEM.
A Place to GrowTri-Valley already has some of the best schools in the USA. The new STEM Center will augment in-school learning with a variety of hands-on informal STEM learning opportunities off campus and outside of normal class hours - after school, evenings, weekends, holidays & summer vacations. Youth will have a whole new range of activities available to them.
A Big Space for Big IdeasA common theme with local STEM groups is a lack of affordable meeting space. We're removing that hurdle by building a large low cost hangar on the side of the main runway at the Livermore Airport. A big space for big ideas!
Extended Learning. Deep Learning.Many introductory classes will be offered. But, youth and youth groups that meet frequently throughout the year will learn advanced topics through long term hands-on projects and skills training.
SEE - Space, Equipment & ExpertiseSuccessful STEM programs require infrastructure. And, we're working to build it & share it. We're looking to create low cost meeting space; provide access to specialized and expensive equipment & supplies; and provide access to experts in a variety of fields.
A Wide Range Of InterestsIf you love RC planes, drone racing, aviation, soaring, rocketry, geology, astronomy, Mars exploration, general science, robotics, electronics, amateur radio or software programming, you'll be amongst friends!
A New Gravitational Center for STEMLeaders of local youth, STEM, and hobby groups are some of the most dedicated, motivated, knowledgeable and passionate people in each of their respective interest areas. Combined, they will create a new gravitational center for informal STEM learning activities for youth.
A One Stop ShopMany of these groups exist by word of mouth only. Bringing them together in one location will make it easier for families to participate in the unique programs they offer. One facility that provides fun low cost educational activities every day of the week!
A Community Of LearnersWe want kids to be excited about learning. Have some fun while exploring ideas. We want them to have an internal drive that makes them ask questions and seek out answers on their own. The STEM Center will help build a community of youth who are driven to challenge themselves.
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A Place To Geek OutWe have stadiums and public parks for sports enthusiasts; theaters & playhouses for performers; symphony halls for musicians; galleries & museums for visual artists. We'll soon have a STEM Center for builders, tinkerers, makers, inventors and explorers! If your creative instincts include a large measure of STEM, you'll have a new place in which to collaborate with your peers.
You'll have a new place to call home! A Collaborative EnvironmentDozens of different nonprofit youth, STEM, hobby, aviation and aerospace groups working together sharing space, tools, resources, skill sets and expertise. This is how new opportunities are born!
Classroom Meets The Real WorldAt the new TriValley STEM Center youth can take topics they've learned in the classroom and put them to use in the real world. STEM topics will take on a new life.
Learning Though Hands-On ProjectsWe're building a place where you can "do" and learn rather than just read and ponder. Hands-on project based activities help take information from a book to something in the real world. It provides context and meaning to newly learned knowledge.
Building Confidence.Building a complex hands-on project isn't just an important way to learn. It's a way to build confidence. It allows youth to be secure in knowing that they can grow and accomplish things outside of the classroom.
STEM Needs Soft SkillsProviding hands-on projects in a group environment allows youth to learn & practice soft skills needed in the real world. Communications. Time management. Listening. Negotiating. Public Speaking. Conflict Resolution. Leadership. Persistence. Youth are challenged in team settings to learn personal, social & leadership skills.
A New Home For STEM CompetitionsThe new STEM Center will be available for STEM teams to meet off campus. It will make it easier for parents & mentors to find needed resources and help teams to learn & thrive.
Badge & Merit Badge CentralWith a pool of learning resources readily available for use by troop leaders, local Girl Scout & Boy Scout troops will have a place to go to earn their STEM badges & merit badges.
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By making it fun and involving lots of their peers, these programs will keep youth engaged and interested. This hangar will be a focal point for numerous informal STEM learning opportunities for youth throughout the Tri-Valley.
All the Tools You Need to Succeed @ Robot Garden Makerspace
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A makerspace is a community workshop where the tools are available for use by all members. At the new airport space, we are planning several different shop areas for different uses.
We have tools that most people don't have at home. We have more space than available in most garages. And, we have a community of tinkers and makers with the interest and expertise to help you with most any project. We'll have separate electronics, wood, plastics and metal workshops. There will be plenty of work areas where you can spread out and get bigger projects done. There will be many activities specific to aviation and aerospace, but not exclusively so. |
Tools are tools. They can be used to build or repair most anything. Two elements make our makerspace different from most. Firstly, most programs have an element specific to aviation or aerospace. Secondly, we will be building real airplanes.
Livermore Airport is the third most active US airport in terms of homebuilt aircraft. There are 78 "experimental class" planes registered and flying at the airport. There are about 15 more currently being built there. Using rented hangar space at the Livermore airport, we have already started an airplane build led by youth. We'll move these efforts to the new STEM Center once we open for business there. We already have volunteers and a donated plane. Join us to help get it in the air! |
Disambiguation:
In addition to our Tri-Valley STEM Center (and our Livermore Aviation Museum planned for 2025 timeframe), there are THREE small science museum projects currently under consideration in the Tri-Valley.
The biggest difference between the STEM Center and these small planned museums is that the STEM Center is focused primarily on hands-on learning activities. Instead of an occasional museum visit, the STEM Center will provide both introductory and extended/advanced learning opportunities in which participants can revisit daily/weekly/monthly throughout the year - and have something new to try on each visit. It is designed as a community center where individuals can spend time collaborating with and learning from other like minded enthusiasts.
To help avoid confusion, we provide links to each of the other proposed museums in the Tri-Valley:
The Farm (Pleasanton)
Valley Children's Museum (Dublin)
Livermore Science and Society Center (Downtown Livermore)
Livermore Aviation Museum (Livermore Airport)
The LLNL Discovery Center is an existing Tri-Valley science museum located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This children's museum is run as part of the lab's public outreach programs. This facility has been operational for many years and provides regular tours targeted at fourth and fifth grade learners.
The Livermore Aviation Museum is planned as an add-on to the Tri-Valley STEM Center. It is part of a phased build out for the airport after the STEM Center is up and running. It will be a separate hangar (adjacent to the STEM Center) used to draw additional enthusiasts to the airport. This will provide one more venue where the public can engage at the airport. There are already many museum ready airplanes at the Livermore Airport. This museum will highlight homebuilt aircraft and the early days of airplane building, as well as warbirds and other unique airplanes. This is a planned project undertaken as part of the Tri-Valley STEM Center phased build out.
The Tri-Valley STEM Center is phase one of a new makerspace to be built at the Livermore Municipal Airport. It will house existing Robot Garden makerspace programs as well as many new ones. It will be a space that youth, families and groups can use on a regular basis for hands-on project-based learning & workforce development outside of regular school hours. It will be a makerspace that provides Space, Equipment & Expertise to facilitate hands-on learning activities with dozens of youth, STEM and hobby groups including Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H & GATE programs. Robot Garden has already raised $500,000 towards its goal of $4M.
The biggest difference between the STEM Center and these small planned museums is that the STEM Center is focused primarily on hands-on learning activities. Instead of an occasional museum visit, the STEM Center will provide both introductory and extended/advanced learning opportunities in which participants can revisit daily/weekly/monthly throughout the year - and have something new to try on each visit. It is designed as a community center where individuals can spend time collaborating with and learning from other like minded enthusiasts.
To help avoid confusion, we provide links to each of the other proposed museums in the Tri-Valley:
The Farm (Pleasanton)
Valley Children's Museum (Dublin)
Livermore Science and Society Center (Downtown Livermore)
Livermore Aviation Museum (Livermore Airport)
The LLNL Discovery Center is an existing Tri-Valley science museum located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This children's museum is run as part of the lab's public outreach programs. This facility has been operational for many years and provides regular tours targeted at fourth and fifth grade learners.
The Livermore Aviation Museum is planned as an add-on to the Tri-Valley STEM Center. It is part of a phased build out for the airport after the STEM Center is up and running. It will be a separate hangar (adjacent to the STEM Center) used to draw additional enthusiasts to the airport. This will provide one more venue where the public can engage at the airport. There are already many museum ready airplanes at the Livermore Airport. This museum will highlight homebuilt aircraft and the early days of airplane building, as well as warbirds and other unique airplanes. This is a planned project undertaken as part of the Tri-Valley STEM Center phased build out.
The Tri-Valley STEM Center is phase one of a new makerspace to be built at the Livermore Municipal Airport. It will house existing Robot Garden makerspace programs as well as many new ones. It will be a space that youth, families and groups can use on a regular basis for hands-on project-based learning & workforce development outside of regular school hours. It will be a makerspace that provides Space, Equipment & Expertise to facilitate hands-on learning activities with dozens of youth, STEM and hobby groups including Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H & GATE programs. Robot Garden has already raised $500,000 towards its goal of $4M.
