Update: This article was updated to reflect a change in name terminology.
It took $450,000 worth of donations (courtesy of the Sturm family and ANB Bank), but the Mobile Learning Lab finally came to fruition. Not only did the facility on wheels become real, but it went on The Bringing the Future to You tour.
Cutting edge technology resides within the expansive facility; much of which are mechatronics, which is a type of technology that blends software, programmable electronic controls, sensors, robotics and mechanical systems into automated equipment and advanced manufacturing processes.
Starting the tour in Montrose, the Mobile Learning Lab ventured throughout Western Colorado as it stopped in Grand Junction, Parachute and Glenwood Springs. Throughout the tour, the facility also visited numerous smaller, rural communities.
The goal of the lab’s tour was to bring valuable skills to communities across the western slope. The facility will primarily be used by students affiliated with Western Colorado Community College (WCCC), but the tour hoped to share some of its resources with other community members
The tech based lab was used to help educate the public on modern technology. The Mobile Learning Lab was not exclusively informative, it also was very interactive. The “hands on” style that the lab provided helped to solidify knowledge and build familiarity with various forms of technology.
“The lab expands WCCC’s ability to deliver education to rural communities with state-of-the-art technology training at a time when small communities need it most,” David Ludlum, the Director of Public Relations at Colorado Mesa University said.
The lab’s primary function is to serve WCCC students by helping them get hands on experience with technology. However, many donors to the lab felt that it could also be beneficial to various communities across the western slope.
With a large amount of people who may not be very familiar with basic technology functions, the Mobile Learning Lab looks to assist people in expanding their comfortability and proficiency with technology.
The tour was open to the public, and anyone interested in taking advantage of the lab’s resources was encouraged to do so.
In order to celebrate the official launching of the tour and Mobile Learning Lab, The Bringing the Future to You tour took a brief pit stop halfway through its travel schedule.
During this momentary pause, the mobile lab went to the ANB Bank in Grand Junction to host an event that featured various speakers including ANB Bank Regional President Vance Wagner, CMU President Tim Foster, the Sturm Family, the Grand Junction Chamber and WCCC officials.
“This is the kind of project that communities like Gateway, Collbran, Mesa, DeBeque and Maybell, to name just a few, can benefit from. While we are in Grand Junction today, tomorrow this lab could easily be in Paonia, Colorado, delivering workforce training. That’s the versatility that mobility brings to CMU and WCCC and the communities we serve,” Foster said.
