Michigan Students Get Two STEM Labs Thanks to Local Firms

When your new STEM center gets so packed with excited students that you can barely hear yourself think, you know you're doing something right.

Hemlock Public School District in Michigan opened its Lockwood STEM Center in 2020, giving students access to robots, 3D printers, and industrial fabrication machines. Within three years, the space was bursting at the seams with kids eager to build, code, and create.

"The more we did, the more we wanted to do," says Tom Lockwood, who helped launch the original center as the district's technology director. "It would get so busy and noisy, and we couldn't fit everything under one roof."

So the district did what any good school would do when students are clamoring for more learning. They built bigger.

The KEEL Innovation Center opened in May 2025 as an addition to the original facility. Defense manufacturer KEEL, Hemlock Semiconductor, and several other local companies funded the expansion, which includes separate labs for LEGO engineering, 3D printing, electronics, and computer coding.

Now students from all four district schools use the combined facilities. Four neighboring school districts send their kids there too, and teachers come for free training sessions.

The tech lineup reads like a wish list. Samsung interactive whiteboards line the walls, professional grade Bambu Lab 3D printers hum in dedicated spaces, and high end computers run design software that feeds digital instructions to routers and mills. In the electronics lab, students learn soldering, wiring, and circuit testing.

Nearly two dozen engineers and computer scientists from the community volunteer as mentors for the high school robotics team. Local STEM professionals drop by regularly to share real world guidance.

The Ripple Effect

The center has partnered with area colleges to offer scholarships specifically for students who participate in the STEM programs. One recent graduate is heading off to study engineering, while another plans to major in data and analytics.

"There's nothing better than seeing these kids get excited about future STEM careers," says Laura Trombley, the center's director. Many former students now return as volunteers, creating a full circle of inspiration.

The trend is spreading beyond Michigan. Austin Hall, director of policy at the STEM Education Coalition, says dedicated STEM facilities are becoming more common as schools partner with outside organizations. Companies see it as an investment in their future workforce, especially as STEM jobs grow faster than the number of graduates to fill them.

In Florida's Hillsborough County, a similar partnership led to a new STEM center at Adams Middle School this past winter. The district offered space in exchange for free access to robotics and drone programming from a local nonprofit.

These partnerships are solving a real problem. National Science Foundation data shows STEM careers are growing faster than schools can prepare students for them. By bringing industry expertise directly into schools, districts are giving kids hands on experience with the tools and thinking they'll actually use in future jobs.

Students are responding with enthusiasm that keeps outgrowing the walls built to contain it.