Published on 09.08.2022 under Consulting, Open Innovation
Experimental and adventure place in Remscheid
TOolLab for the craft
September 29, 2022
ToolLab networking workshop brings the regional actors to one table
In order for the ToolLab to come to life, strong partners from the region are needed. In order to seek an exchange with them and to make the ToolLab idea better known, we held a networking workshop with very different actors. Because there are already a number of initiatives, projects and, above all, many people in the Bergisch region who are committed to promoting young talent.
For example, the zdi center BeSt, which focuses on young STEM students in the region, got involved, as did the junior university and the digit campus. Representatives from the regional economic development agencies, the district craftsmen’s association and schools also discussed possible concrete approaches to cooperation and, above all, what each individual institution would like and could contribute to the ToolLab.
In the end it was clear: The ToolLab is alive and the active people on site want to inspire young people for the trade from 2023.
The test laboratories are entering the next round
August 18, 2022
The “ToolLab” does not yet have its own premises for craft courses where children can tinker and try things out. Nevertheless, the ToolLab wants to gather experience as early as possible. The test laboratories offer an opportunity to test course concepts in advance. The experiences from these first workshops are subsequently incorporated into the overall concept.
After the project week with the Alexander-von-Humboldt Realschule from Remscheid, to test other factors such as the project topic, technical skills, course size and premises, the test laboratories for the "ToolLab" project went into the second round at the beginning of August.
Also this time we as matrix took over the planning and organization. Even more: employees from our team were able to pass on their own Fablab knowledge to the participating children and contribute their experience as lecturers in these test workshops.
Through the execution of the second test laboratory, contact with another potential partner could be established and strengthened through cooperation. This time we were allowed to use the premises of the zdi district laboratory in the north of Wuppertal. At the end of the summer holidays, nine boys and girls aged 8-12 spent their last two days with us. This time we worked on the topics of open source projects, upcycling and electronics in a very practical way.
Equipped with hot glue guns and soldering irons, two groups set about trying out publicly available building instructions for an e-truck or a popcorn machine made from empty cans, milk cartons and beverage lids. In addition to constructing the models, the participating children were able to build up a basic understanding of electronics while tinkering or (yes, there were children who already had previous knowledge) to reinforce it. Thanks to the independent way of working, the children were able to approach the independent development of projects at the same time.
Joy and sorrow were close together, after all very individual problems arose, especially when connecting motors, batteries or LEDs. These challenges were tackled under the supervision of the lecturers and often with the help of those sitting next to them.
In particular, the different previous knowledge, working methods and speeds of the children turned out to be a challenge. These had to be reconciled. However, we were also able to observe positive things: children who were faster and already more confident helped their neighbors without hesitation or documented the result of the group. Children who had previously approached the lab with hesitation and skepticism thrived on the course and even wanted to give interviews. At the end, each child could proudly present the moving e-truck to their parents and take it home.
It was nice to see that doing things yourself, making them work and then proudly presenting them afterwards makes children want to learn something new even in their last precious days of vacation.
Test laboratories – the first offers in the test
June 09, 2022
Sawing, painting, trying things out and being creative together - this was the motto of the test laboratories of the "ToolLab" project. As matrix, we took over the planning and organization of these test laboratories.
We wanted to get involved in the development of the Toollab's offerings at an early stage. That's why we - because the ToolLab itself is still in the planning stage - used existing locations as well as motivated craftsmen and teachers. Together with Extension Strasmann, a general contractor in the field of interior and exterior fittings from Remscheid, and the Alexander von Humboldt Realschule in Remscheid we were able to carry out the first test laboratories. Children and young people in classes 5 to 9 were invited to implement the school garden project under the guidance of the craftsmen, and in particular to renovate the garden hut set up there. During this test week, we primed, painted, hammered and screwed together.
Test laboratories therefore represent a testing environment and offer an opportunity in the innovation process to implement initial theoretical considerations before the final concept and its implementation, to try them out and learn from them. They offer an important opportunity for testing and verification in order to successfully implement the usage concept of an extracurricular place of learning and its realization. In addition, the test laboratories attract attention in the region and the concepts become visible and tangible for the target groups. Therefore, the colleagues of the matrix agency accompanied the week. They took photos and filmed. In addition, they interviewed all students before and after the measure in order to get an initial comparison between expectations and experiences.
All of these findings are incorporated into the conception of the extracurricular learning location "ToolLab" and translated into recommendations for action. More on that shortly.
Bring the right people together
June 01, 2022
The ToolLab is taking shape. The team is not only working on the spatial design, but also on the content. Partners and the network in the region help with this. That is why matrix also brings partners together for this purpose.
important stakeholder whom we invited to participate in the design of the ToolLab. At a first meeting between the Bergische structural and economic development company and the zdi center, it quickly became clear: ideas are bubbling up here. Joint activities - gladly! And the use of zdi rooms by the ToolLab is also possible without any problems. In order to get an impression of the locations and to be inspired, our matrix team met with Oliver Franke from the BSW and Sarah Debus as well as Petra from the Siepen from the zdi center in the Quartierslabor in Wuppertal. Rooms, equipment and furnishings show what extracurricular activities in the neighborhood can look like. Charlotte Ridder from the project DigIT_Campus (www.digitcampus.eu). She was able to report directly that numerous workshops have been designed in her project that combine craftsmanship with digitization - and that can be broadcast free of charge. It was an on-site visit that revealed interesting points of contact. Thanks to everyone involved for the openness and the exciting exchange. We're looking forward to what comes of it!
New building TOolLab - Architecture competition
25 April 2022
The plan for the ToolLab room – the extracurricular place of learning as part of the HONSWERK district development project, in which young people can experience and try out the attractiveness of professional fields in the trades – is becoming more concrete: the architectural office Wolfang Zeh (Cologne) has won the architectural competition for the new building. The design impressed with its pragmatic clarity and spatial versatility. The new building is to replace three housing estates that are ready for demolition.
The self-confident and compact structure is characterized by its multifunctionality and allows various possibilities of use and appropriation - also by several user groups. Clearly zoned areas for a wide variety of activities are created on two and a half floors. The spatial structure works cleverly with the hillside location and also offers barrier-free access.
More information about the architecture competition can be found here: https://www.honswerk.de/projekte/gewinner-architekturwettbewerb/
Lab for the craft - Workshop #2 - develop content
March 4, 2022
What concrete content-related offers do we want to start with? Together, the participants in workshop #2 worked out the most concrete possible approaches for the first events and courses that are to be tried out in “test laboratories” in the coming months. The basic idea of these "test labs" is to conduct initial workshops with students, teachers or parents and to learn from them:
- Can we find enough partners for the formats?
- Are the topics and content of interest to the target groups?
- Are we reaching the target groups?
- Does the organizational implementation work?
- ....
Based on the target image, ideas were collected that promote creative, manual design and implementation with tools and, if possible, take up the topics of digitization and sustainability in the trade. The personas developed in the first workshop provided orientation. They map the needs and challenges of the target groups and helped to develop tailor-made offers.
To help, there was an overview of the most important success factors for successful measures. In addition, individual, exciting measures from other regions were presented as inspiration, including cosplay workshops, a holiday camp on the subject of vertical gardening and the construction of a school food trailer by schoolchildren with the support of a master carpenter, as well as international examples from the maker scene.
In the end, there were countless ideas on the digital whiteboard, including the annual soap box race event in Berg, which brings together a wide variety of trades from carpenters and electricians to teams that sew team clothing, the mobile workshop that enables the ToolLab to be used by schools directly on site to achieve, the upcycling of leftover tiles, which we breathe new life into by means of digital design, and the bicycle workshop, which supports the students in building a cargo bike.
These or similar ideas are now being further developed together with teachers and craftsmen and some of them are being tried out in the test laboratories.
Lab for the craft - Workshop #1 - Goal & target groups
February 18, 2022
What does the region need? Formulating a common vision, finding a regional consensus, and doing it digitally - not an easy task. It was surprising and gratifying that the teachers, the representatives of the city administration and business development agencies of the cities of Remscheid, Solingen and Wuppertal as well as the representatives and members of the district craftsmen’s association of Remscheid and Solingen-Wuppertal quickly agreed: the region needs a place where young people, parents, teachers and craftsmen meet curiously and at eye level. Children should be able to work creatively here, design handicrafts and implement their own ideas. They learn about manual skills and experience modern craftsmanship. The ToolLab will therefore be an extracurricular place of learning, an inviting meeting place and a modern demonstration site. Sustainability should play an important role in this. In this way, the ToolLab can show the important contribution that trade makes to the climate-neutral city of the future, for example. In this way, enthusiasm for the craft develops in the ToolLab with exciting topics in one's own work. In addition, the participants agree that the trades offer great job prospects and secure jobs. It is also about educational opportunities - the ToolLab wants to show them.
In addition to the commitment of all participants, the well-prepared contributions of Mrs. Schneider, Bergische Structure and Economic Development Corporation and Mr. Winterhager, Urbane Neighborhood Honsberg gGmbH, who want to promote the project in the region, contributed to the easy goal setting. The Lord Mayor of the city of Remscheid, Burkhard Mast-Weisz, emphasized that "[...] the project and the topic are very important for the city in order to give the district a new profile and to push education and educational equity forward here. We want to show how exciting and important craftsmanship is. It's fun to create something that should be experienced. [...]"
We will soon continue with the concrete program and workshop planning. Teachers and craftsmen are invited to plan the first workshops with us, which we will then implement together in so-called test laboratories before the summer.
Site visit TOolLab Remscheid
17 January 2022
Awakening enthusiasm for craftsmanship – that is what the new ToolLab in Remscheid wants to do. In this lab, young people, parents and teachers can tackle things themselves and implement their own ideas. In this way, they experience handicrafts up close, from traditional techniques to digital methods.
Until then there is still a lot to be done. This week we visited the location of the lab, because matrix accompanies the project of the Bergische structural and economic development company from conception to implementation.
So that the ToolLab suits the people and challenges of the region, we involve them now. In the next few weeks, for example, the first workshops with teachers and craftsmen will take place. How do they want to use the ToolLab?
Soon we will report more about the creation of the lab for crafting in this blog.
Lab for craftsmanship: impressions of the location in Remscheid
You can find an overview of the entire project here.
Find out more about labs at matrix here.
