A $100,000 STEM Innovation Lab will be built in the Region 5 STEM Center library at Lake Charles Boston Academy, 1509 Enterprise Blvd., next year.

On Thursday, representatives from the Calcasieu Parish School Board, Region 5 STEM Center, the city of Lake Charles and Inventionland gathered in the library to discuss the new project. The library will be transformed into an immersive and imaginative space for students across the region.

The Region 5 STEM Center serves Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jeff Davis and Vernon parishes. STEM Center Director Mark Arseneault said since the nine regional centers in Louisiana work together, the upgrades could have statewide positive impacts.

The center hosts field trips, summer camps and professional development events. The facilities area available to public, private, charter and home-schooled students, as well as adults, he said.

The new STEM Innovation Lab will have STEM-centric, versatile spaces focused on space and travel, robotics, drones, and innovation that encourage students to explore. The lab will also feature student collaboration areas and a STEM Maker Machine.

Professional development areas will also be built for educators.

The lab will be designed by Inventionland, a design and invention company based out of Pittsburgh. Representative John Peretz said the company began redesigning educational spaces eight years ago. After an assistant superintendent in Pennsylvania saw Inventionland’s 16 creatively themed office spaces – a treehouse, a pirate ship, a racetrack- he was inspired to renovate some of his district’s libraries.

“Picture this 70,000-square-foot facility that had offices and cubicles. It’s hard to be creative when you’re working out of a base box all day long,” he said.

Inventionland Education won an Edison Award for the labs designed in the Seneca Valley School District. This principle has now been applied to school libraries across the country.

“Since then, we’ve done some really, really beautiful space redesigns, really trying to make what could be a little bit of a stoic education environment and turning it into this really beautiful, immersive space.”

The lab will have areas dedicated to STEM and career exploration. This will expose students to new career paths, which is especially important in an industry-heavy region like SW La., he said.

“It puts these kids on a pathway to future success, because not only do the jobs come with higher incomes, but they also come with health care benefits and becoming really, really instrumental players within the community.

CPSB Superintendent Jason VanMetre echoed this, stating that the education field is currently evolving.

“There’s a lot of things in flux … To be able to expose kids to not only new ways of thinking about ideas, but then also giving them excitement for things that haven’t even been invented yet.”

He said including flexibility in the lab’s design is “crucial” to ensure the lab is adaptable for a variety of uses.

“We’re going to use this for a lot of different things,” he said. “Things we can list and so many things that we haven’t even thought of yet.”

The lab would not be possible without partnerships. The project is funded by a $60,000 donation from Woodside Louisiana LNG, a $20,000 contribution from CPSB and a $20,000 contribution from the City of Lake Charles.

The Region 5 STEM Center was included in the LC Rebound bond passed by voters last year. Mayor Nic Hunter said the City’s partnership with the Center is a sign that “Lake Charles gets it.”

“We get what it means and how important it is to have amenities like that … quality of life amenities for our students, our family, our children.”

“At Woodside, we’re committed to giving back to the communities where we live and work,” said Vanessa Martin, vice president, Woodside Louisiana LNG, in a release. “We are committed to our contribution in Louisiana and we’re proud to be supporting further STEM education and research in Lake Charles.”