Support Academy at Palumbo’s new makerspace [crowdfunding]

The high schoolers of Academy at Palumbo are getting their own makerspace.

But the South Philly students need a few things.

The students just got funding for a Makerbot 3D printer and teacher Klint Kanopka bought them a few Arduinos, but they’re hoping to raise about $2,600 for a circular saw, safety glasses, a drill bit set and more tools for the space.

Donate here.

Said physics teacher Kanopka, who’s spearheading the project: “My vision for that is to have students making physical objects, prototyping, designing, programming and learning by pursuing things they’re interested in.”

It sounds a lot like an in-house Department of Making + Doing, the University City Science Center youth-focused makerspace. It also follows the maker trend seen both around the city and across the East Coast.

The students at Academy at Palumbo are STEM-inclined: Their team won two out of the three challenges at the most recent Philadelphia Engineering and Math Challenge, and the school also won the statewide Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM challenge, which sought out the best STEM curriculums.

Academy at Palumbo has raised nearly one-third of its $2,590 goal.

Read more on the Passyunk Post.