Who We Are

(This page is currently in progress... If you'd like to get involved, please contact us!)

Motivation / Mission Statement

The Steampunk Laboratory is keenly interested in empowering students young and old to learn new skills - technical, artistic, entrepreneurial or all three.  Our hope is that by offering a wide "menu" of introductory hands-on projects, individuals can determine whether they have a passion or aptitude in fields they may never had had the chance to explore, from soldering a circuit to painting a portrait to managing a project.  In this manner, we hope to help people find satisfaction in a new hobby, test-out a college-level skill before graduating high-school, start a side-business, or simply explore and interact with other like-minded people in their community in a creative and productive way. 

By doing this in a community-interactive environment, we hope that individual students can contribute to this effort as well, by providing their creativity and unique perspectives too.  By emphasizing "learning how to learn", and providing the tools to do so (a community shop; access to the internet and other learning tools), we hope that once students are introduced to a skill, they are empowered to further develop their interest on their own, with a bit of guidance from teachers and peers.  And by documenting and promoting the lessons and methodology online, with an emphasis on "open-source" software and courseware, the Steampunk Laboratory hopes that other teachers and students can start their own community classrooms/workshops/Laboratories in their neighborhoods too.

By empowering people to discover and share their own creative passions, in a collaborative center with an innovative and entrepreneurial emphasis and an open-source paradigm, it is hoped to provide skills, tools and means for our communities to become happier and more productive.

Members of the Lab

(in alphabetical order)

Alex - teacher, web designer, fabricator

Alex Bandar is a Ph. D. engineer with an interest in "Steampunk" art, interactive kinetic sculpture, computers, drawing,  teaching, and more.  He enjoys employing engineering for creative purposes, and inspiring students young and old to explore their creative sides while simultaneously learning career-useful technical or entrepreneurial skills.

Deborah - educational liaison

Drew - student

Jessica - accountant

Jessica has her Bachelors of Science in Accounting, has 10 years of experience as an accountant, mentors high school/college students , and enjoys involving herself in creative business ideas.

Jonathon - student

Mandy - fabricator, teacher, web designer

Mandy Howenstine, fabricator/teacher/web designer, has her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.  She has a strong background in music and performs regularly as a freelance percussionist in the area.  Her "steampunk" side is cultivated through inspirations of artists such as M. C. Escher and Leondardo da Vinci, and she seeks to build a community where those interested in art can explore engineering, and those interested in engineering can explore art.

Marshall - fabricator

(Marshall's bio is pending)

Matt - fabricator, teacher

Matthew - student

Mike - fabricator

(Mike's bio is pending)

Nikki - grant writer

Pics, bios, and more to follow....