Learning should be driven by enthusiasm and inquiry—not by standardized testing anxiety. This belief guided leaders of the Plainfield Community School Corp. near Indianapolis when they filled in an old district swimming pool to create The Imagination Lab, a $5 million hands-on learning complex and STEM makerspace.
“We needed to make education fun, and get students excited about learning again and not be so wrapped up in test scores,” says Superintendent Scott Olinger of the reasons behind building the Imagination Lab, which is housed at K-5 Clarks Creek Elementary School.
The district completely renovated the facility to build the Imagination Lab’s multiple spaces, which are open to all of Plainfield’s elementary schools. About 2,500 students spend a few hours each month in the lab working on a wide range of hands-0n projects that Plainfield’s educators call…
