Welcome to St. Luke’s designLab, a makerspace as well as a program that develop creative problem-solving abilities through computer science, engineering, and design thinking experiences. In designLab, as ideas take shape, thinkers become makers, stepping out from behind computer screens to build real-world applications with modern, state-of-the-art tools.
What is designLab?
List of 3 items.
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The home of design thinking at St. Luke's.
Defined in broad terms as a creative problem-solving process, design thinking can be applied to any field of study, any line of business, anywhere an unmet need exists. It’s both a mindset as well as an actionable skill.The design thinking process starts with empathy. In keeping with St. Luke’s mission and motto, designLab reflects a service-oriented influence captured by its motto: Make It Better. -
A space for experimentation.
designLab is a space—mental and physical—for exploration and experimentation. The 3,500 square foot lab features nine 3D printers, a CO2 laser cutter, small and large CNC routers, and a fully-stocked woodshop. designLab offers a flexible environment where the physical space adapts to user needs. It comes equipped with plenty of whiteboard space and Post-It notes for brainstorming—a critical step in idea generation and problem solving.
Read The Sentinel student article about designLab. -
An engineering and computer science curriculum.
In the Upper School, designLab encompasses the Engineering and Computer Science curricula, which include courses such as Foundations of Computer Science, Foundations of Engineering, Mechanical Design, and Data Structures and more advanced, language-specific programming courses.Mechanical and Electrical Design and are project-based, portfolio courses that shift the variable from time to mastery. A student taking these portfolios earns credit for the course when s/he has successfully completed the portfolio, not simply at the end of the traditional academic semester. This is a first for St. Luke’s—highlighting our belief in the portfolio model's capacity to enhance subject mastery and develop problem-solving skills. designLab enables us to explore this promising option.In the Middle School (MS), designLab offers a MS designLab elective and works with classroom teachers to enhance current programming with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) connections. During the school year, designLab runs the MS Maker Club as an afternoon activity and in the summer offers MS Maker Camp to the greater SLS community.
An Empathetic Approach to Problem Solving
designLab builds a critical leadership skill: creative problem solving. Students begin to ask themselves: How can I be creative? They start to see this question as a tool. This solution-seeking mindset permeates St. Luke's culture. Students and faculty eagerly take on challenges because it's hard fun to figure stuff out.
What kind of challenges? Engineering students designing tools to help teachers convey math and language concepts; teachers designing a new student experience; Middle School students conceiving and prototyping interactive sculpture ideas; students of all ages attending a 48-hour Hackathon; Trustees grappling with education trends and priorities, and on and on...
Activity Hub
designLab facilitates a number of initiatives, competitions, and camps throughout the year. The photos below provide a snapshot of the collaboration, creativity, and sense of independence fostered by designLab.
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Middle School designLab—students design and piece together custom soccer balls. -
Middle School makers construct a replica of the Eiffel Tower. -
Students use power drills to construct project in designLab. -
St. Luke's 9th-grade history students design and build interactive hieroglyphics project.
designLab News
List of 4 news stories.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 30 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
