| 2026 ICS Free STEAM Workshops - 2025 |
Amount Funded: $3,000.00 |
| Estimated Timeline:
October - December 2025: curriculum and class development/planning, preparing marketing materials and outreach plan, building registration forms and adding classes to website, beginning marketing/outreach and getting registrations.
January - December 2026: offer one free workshop per month.
Use of Funds:
Approximately 36 hours of curriculum development and class prep: $1,800
24 hours of instruction: $1,200
Supplies and materials: $750
Indirect cost rate of 25% (includes a portion of overhead costs such as rent, phone and internet, software subscriptions, marketing costs, website costs, additional staff support, etc.): $1,250
Total: $5,000
The Stoughton area will be positively impacted by the offerings of these workshops. Currently there are no other options in the Stoughton area for the hands-on learning of these concepts and opportunity to use this software and equipment to actually make and take home the projects we’re proposing, and more specifically nothing like this is offered for free. The Fab Lab in Stoughton high school used to offer these opportunities, but because of budgetary constraints and limited staff capacity, they are no longer able to offer them. ICS would like to fill in this gap by offering these community workshops for free, in an accessible* downtown location.
*While we do not have a permanent handicap accessible entrance to our building, we have purchased a portable wheelchair lift that makes our entrance accessible to those who need it.
As technology continues to rapidly advance and change, there is an increasing need for these types of skills and digital literacy for learners of all ages. Additionally, workforce needs are shifting to favor employees that can keep up with technological advances and that have foundational skills in computers, robotics, programming, and 3D design/printing as more and more employers are integrating automation and other advanced technologies into their work processes. Fostering these skills in Stoughton-area residents will increase the local talent pool for Stoughton-area companies, support individuals’ career goals, hobbyist, or entrepreneurial pursuits, get more young people interested in STEAM careers, and overall increase the resiliency and vibrancy of the Stoughton area.
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| This grant would allow us to offer 12 free “Make and Take” STEAM workshops in 2026 (one per month). Each workshop is two hours. Some examples of workshops are: laser-cut light boxes, bookmarks, family tree, rubber stamps, journals, puzzles, ornaments, clocks; 3D design & print dice, cookie cutter, pencil holder; design & print vinyl stickers.
These workshops teach STEAM skills in a fun, engaging, and hands-on way. Participants walk away with something unique that they made themselves.
Each workshop has a capacity of 12 participants, & our free workshops tend to fill up, so we would anticipate serving 144 community members in 2026 (although some participants may join more than one workshop).
While typically designed to accommodate participants of all ages, we may designate some workshops as “child and parent” & some as “adult only” based on the activity and skill level required.
With laser workshops, students first start by learning to use Adobe Illustrator, a 2D design software program on the computer. With guidance, they use Illustrator to modify or create from scratch a design for the object they are making, such as a bookmark, ornament, family tree, etc., developing digital literacy skills (using a computer & software program), measurement skills, & creativity skills. Once the design is complete, they learn about materials they will be using for their project (wood, acrylic, glass, leather, etc.), the basics of how a laser engraving machine works, & how the materials they are using are cut, engraved, or otherwise impacted by the laser. These are materials science and technical machine skills being developed. Then participants learn how to program the laser to do what they want and watch it in action as it cuts and engraves their design onto the chosen material. After the pieces are lasered, the final step is to assemble all of the parts into the finished product. This involves learning how all of the pieces fit together & properly assembling them.
With 3D printing workshops, students also start by learning to use a design software, in this case a 3D modeling software (such as Tinkercad or Onshape). 3D modeling teaches geometry, scale, design, engineering concepts such as structural integrity of the object you are creating, & general digital literacy skills. Students build their creativity by incorporating custom ideas, images, & graphics into their model. Once the design is finished, students learn how a 3D printer works & how to properly load fi |
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