Rex Gym Transformation: Full STEAM Ahead!
Rich Ulmer '60 supports creativity on City Avenue
A generous gift of $1 million from Rich Ulmer ’60, benefactor of The Ulmer Family Light Lab and Ulmer Family Tennis Complex, has launched Phase 1 of the Center for Innovation and Design (CID) and ignited the process of envisioning, planning, and building a final version.As City Avenue’s corollary to the state-of-the-art Ulmer Family Light Lab on the Lower School campus, the completed CID, with advanced technology and programming, will serve as a critical pedagogical steppingstone for students in their STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics). Head of School Beth D. Johnson ’77 has set a completion date for summer 2024. FCS is grateful for Rich Ulmer’s generous support of this exciting initiative.
The CID unveiled Phase 1 to students and faculty this fall. With a thoughtful and imaginative redesign of the 1920s Rex gymnasium, Friends’ Central is utilizing a beloved space from the past to position the School for the short and long-term future. “Friends’ Central produces students who think creatively, flexibly, and in innovative ways – for futures that we cannot yet imagine,” says Associate Head of School Alexa D. Quinn ’98. “The CID will provide new pathways to a relevant and exceptional educational experience.”
“Friends’ Central produces students who think creatively, flexibly, and in innovative ways – for futures that we cannot yet imagine. The CID will provide new pathways to a relevant and exceptional educational experience.”
Alexa D. Quinn ’98, Associate Head of School
With approximately 6,800 square feet of space for programming, the newly designed CID will include studios for design and prototyping, fabrication, technology and robotics, and the storage and finishing of student projects. FCS students and faculty have been at the heart of this process, as the ultimate form of the Center will be determined by a collaborative and inclusive process. CJ Keller, Co-Director of the Center for Innovation and Design has been the tireless leader of the project, in both the planning and physical construction, and is eager for community feedback. He has high ambitions for the completed facility. “Phase 1 is really just the testing phase, part of an iterative process,” CJ says. “It’s good, but it’s not complete, so it’s going to be great to get student and faculty input, and see how they work in the space–what they use, and out of all of the new equipment, what inspires them–and we’re going to take all of that information, all that data, and bring it into the Phase 2 redesign.”
Although the CID is in its early days, it is poised to catalyze one of the best years for STEAM education at Friends’ Central in its history. “The availability of light in here makes this such an inspiring space to work in,” says Dave Thomas, Middle & Upper School CID teacher, and Director of the former Makerspace.
Sunlight, captured on the roof by solar panels to charge power tools, pours in from high windows above metal trusses. “It’s an ideal location,” says CJ, sitting at a table in the main room of the CID. A transparent work bench station divides the room in two, enabling multiple groups and classes to work simultaneously and allows for “the serendipitous exchanges between grade levels and classes.”
Throughout the spring and summer months, students have already been using their creativity to reimagine and recycle elements of the former Rex Gymnasium. One idea that has come to life was to repurpose the fiberglass backboard of the basketball hoop to create a workbench station wall that is also a window, transparent and community-oriented.
“At the very core of it, it’s an opportunity for creative learning,” says Dave, discussing the way a student project can take a turn at any moment. Matt Schoifet, Upper School physics teacher and Co-Director of the CID, agrees wholeheartedly: “I think some of the best discoveries happen by accident.”
“This space will support the community around us. With my Design Thinking class, I want them to find and identify a problem on campus or in the community or beyond and try to address it.”
CJ Keller, CID Co-Director
“This space will help support the community around us,” CJ adds. “With my Design Thinking class, I want them to find and identify a problem on campus or in the community or beyond and try to address it. For example, the EPA offers worldwide challenges for students to try to solve and come up with the best solution.”
Dave Thomas recalls how the original Makerspace on the Upper School campus began as a small group of students who wanted to make a robot. That spirit of self-directed learning and innovation remains strong as Phase 1 launches this fall and the Friends’ Central community looks ahead to imagine the completed version of the Center for Innovation and Design. “Keep it a flexible, organic space,” CJ says, “and we’ll see where the students take us.”
Phase I of the CID offers students:
Technology:
• Virtual reality headsets
• Interactive Promethean SmartBoards
• Computers with CAD/CAM software
• 3-D and SLA printers
• Vinyl and large-format printers
• Digital media studio with greenscreen and filmmaking equipment
Woodworking
• CNC ShopBot router
• Glowforge laser cutter
• Traditional woodworking hand tools
• Machines including bandsaws, scroll saws, table saw
Metalworking & Textiles
• WAZER waterjet cutter
• Sewing & embroidery machines
• Drill presses
• SWAG metal cutter
• Soldering station
New Classes & Programs:
• Design Thinking: Concept to Creation
• Competitive robotics
• Community-wide design challenges
• Environmental & real-world design challenges
• Intro to Computer Science I
• Intro to Computer Hardware
• Advanced Python & Object-Oriented Programming
For more information or to support the Center for Innovation & Design, contact Colette Kleitz, Chief Development Officer, at 610.645.5076 or ckleitz@friendscentral.org.
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