Future Ready Lab | Qualcomm® Thinkabit Lab™

The Future Ready Lab / Qualcomm® Thinkabit Lab™ officially opened in September 2017 on the Citrus South Tule site in Porterville. The Citrus South Tule school started in 1874 with an original one-room school house still located on site.

 

Due to low enrollment, Citrus South Tule lapsed to Porterville Unified School District in 2015 and the Future Ready Lab became a reality after discussions between PUSD and Qualcomm officials. 

 

The Thinkabit Lab, which opened at Qualcomm’s San Diego headquarters in 2014, is the combination of an engineering lab, makerspace, and classroom offering teachers and students an engaging learning environment to foster creativity, collaboration, and the development of critical skills necessary for the 21st century. The unique, hands-on Thinkabit Lab experience exposes students to STEAM concepts and careers that are essential to tomorrow’s workforce not only at Qualcomm but in every aspect of building the wireless, Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G ecosystems. The Future Ready Lab in Porterville is part of Qualcomm’s efforts to bring its STEAM-based Thinkabit Lab experience to diverse communities and regions nationwide. PUSD Pathways Learning Director Erik Santos facilitates the Thinkabit Lab’s Signature Activities, including Qualcomm® World of Work career exploration and unique engineering projects. 

 

The Future Ready Lab offers 2 full-days of classes each week that are based on the Thinkabit Lab experience. Classes are taught by instructors with STEAM and education backgrounds, which will help students create, code, collaborate and present robotic creations better known as “Robo Crafts”.

 

The goal of the Future Ready Lab is to serve as a 21st-century learning environment not just for PUSD students, but for students in the surrounding area and greater San Joaquin Valley.