K-State's Mobile Innovation Lab trailer Photo courtesy of K-State Libraries

This spring, the Kansas State University (K-State) Libraries, in Manhattan, KS, will launch a Mobile Innovation Lab, in partnership with the Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab. The towable trailer—packed with innovative technology and programming resources designed to inspire curiosity, spark innovation, and support digital equity—will deliver hands-on, STEM-focused learning experiences to middle and high school students across the state.

Among other offerings, students will have the opportunity to learn about and try 3-D design and printing, virtual reality experiences, podcasting and audio storytelling, robotics and circuit building, greenscreen video production, satellite communications, and vinyl cutting and creative fabric projects.

A MOBILE LAB IS BORN

The Sunderland Lab is a collaborative technology and programming initiative housed in K-State’s Hale Library, which was originally intended to be a first-floor makerspace as part of a planned renovation. But after a catastrophic fire in 2018, the library required a more extensive rebuild, allowing the Sunderland Lab to expand to two floors and incorporate technology blending, media, and prototyping initiatives as well as innovative tech tools including 3-D printers, laser cutters, Raspberry Pi devices, and more. A partnership between K-State Libraries and the Division of Information Technology, with support from K-State’s Student Governing Association, the lab offers students, staff, faculty, and the community at large an opportunity to explore and use state-of-the-art technologies.

Two years ago, Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab Director Jeff Sheldon and a coworker traveled to a middle school event as part of an energy education program. They liked the model of a visiting educational lineup tailored to middle and high school students, and when they learned more about the project they were part of, they felt that STEM education could be a valuable project for K-State and the Sunderland Lab. “We thought we could put our own spin on it,” he told LJ. “The library could be the neutral player in an academic setting to make technology and resources available.”

Hale Library often sees visits from local students, homeschoolers, and 4-H clubs checking out its resources. “There’s a certain kind of humility in seeing people travel for hours just to come visit you for a couple hours and then get back on the bus and return home,” said Sheldon. “We realized we can’t just expect everybody to come to us. And we realized that we were sitting on something important that was worth it to others. That’s partly what motivated the desire to have a mobile presence.”

Team of K-State Libraries employees (Keegan Lopez, Denny Ryan, Jeremy Sharp, and Katy Bach) assembling loaded carts for the trailer Photo courtesy of K-State Libraries

The Mobile Innovation Lab’s creation began with the mobile component: a trailer found on the K-State Surplus Property website. Sheldon and his team contracted out the design for 10 boxes that hold the different components, and the library’s communications and marketing department helped with branding. The trailer’s interior was outfitted to accommodate carts that hold the boxes.

What’s in those boxes? “Much like what we do in the Sunderland Lab, technologies fall into three groupings—media, prototyping, and data,” said Sheldon. While the mobile lab won’t travel with laser cutters because of the risks involved, it will hold a 3-D printer, Cricut cutting machines, virtual reality headsets, a one-button green screen, a small sewing machine, and podcasting equipment.

Sheldon would also like to encourage student interest in satellite technology. “The average person can put up a satellite through a small group effort,” he said. “I would like to be able to build up a satellite communications space with our amateur radio club here on campus, and then also put a little basic CubeSat in a box so that students can learn in the classroom how to communicate with it.” And while it may be a little further down the line, he thinks there’s a place for basic robotics and AI equipment.

Sheldon plans to include light programming for teachers who want some guidance, “but we really want the students to learn through experience and through application,” said Sheldon. “The teacher may want them to learn on their own, they may want them to do collaborative projects through the different items, or maybe they’ll have them follow some class guidance.”

INVESTING IN KANSAS

Mobile Innovation Lab trailer loaded and ready to roll Photo courtesy of K-State Libraries

The plan is for the trailer to travel to a school where teachers have expressed interest in hosting it and stay for two weeks. The K-State driver—most likely Sheldon, he added, because he enjoys exploring the state—will then return to the school, pack up the trailer, conduct an assessment to be filled out by teachers and students, hitch it to the truck, and go on to the next school.

The Mobile Innovation Lab is innovative and exciting, but primarily it’s about leveling up access for kids. Sheldon wants its pilot trips to visit rural areas of western Kansas where schools may have lower budgets and fewer resources. He hopes to partner with other K-State entities—the colleges of education or engineering, for example—and the Kansas Department of Education, to ensure compliance with state education policies. Among other goals, the project meets K-State’s mission, as a land-grant university, to advance education to all residents across Kansas. Depending on the project’s success, Sheldon would like to expand the Initiative; he envisions a fleet of “prairie schooner trailers all over the state, assisting in different ways.”

The lack of robust broadband access in some rural communities may be a challenge, noted Sheldon, who is investigating possible partnerships with data providers for hotspots. Cybersecurity is another concern, as is the capacity to grow and refresh the technology being introduced. He’s also working with the K-State College of Education to determine what professional development might look like for teachers in remote schools. “We’re looking at online trainings, virtual trainings, workshops, and also we can provide a certain amount of information in hard copy, if need be, for certificates and micro-credentials from K-State so there’s some tie to the university.”

Sponsors at various levels are invited to sign on for logo rights on the trailer, website, or a lab box. He also plans to seek sponsorships with businesses in areas where the Mobile Lab will be traveling—“They’re helping us, we’re helping promote them, and the fact that they want to see the community thrive.”

Sheldon wants educators and partners to have ownership of the project that the Mobile Innovation Lab brings to schools. “What is really important to me is not to say they have to do it the K-State way,” he said. “We’re going to put these items in a trailer, we’re going to bring it out to you, we’re going to give you what you need to succeed, and then we’re going to back off and say, 'You use these items, work with them, explore, feel free to fail, even.' If they break, they break, we’ll replace them. And in that process, my hope is that that people feel like they have the agency and autonomy to see this initiative as we intended, which is to help build up our community and invest in Kansas.”