SONORA, California – On June 8, 2015 the Sonora based InnovationLab announced a new partnership with Big Oak Flat/Groveland Unified School District to launch a Mini-ILab on the campus of Tioga High School in Groveland, California. Big Oak Flat/Groveland Unified School District will staff the new Mini-ILab with existing resources and will also be providing ongoing funding to maintain the Mini-ILab once the location is opened. The Big Oak Flat/Groveland Unified School District will also be handling the build-out of the necessary infrastructure to prepare the building for the new Mini-ILab.

InnovationLab staff will provide assistance in establishing the Mini-ILab within the Tioga High School. Assistance will be provided through new and existing resources and InnovationLab staff will provide one-on-one guidance and management expertise. The InnovationLab will be providing necessary equipment and software including, but not limited to, computers, software and two 3-D printers.

The Mini-ILab will provide hands on experience for students of the district who can design and build items that they can apply in their adult life. It will also allow them to access additional advanced equipment at the InnovationLab’s main campus in Sonora, California.

The Mini-ILab will be open to the public during certain times and dates to encourage the spread of technology and entrepreneurship throughout the Groveland and Big Oak Flat areas of Tuolumne County. These times and dates will be announced closer to the grand opening that currently planned for late August or early September of 2015.

InnovationLab

The InnovationLab is a membership-based facility that’s a do-it-yourself fabrication and prototyping center, incubator, maker space, and a learning center.

It gives innovators, entrepreneurs and makers throughout the Central California region access to tools and resources like 3-D printers, a gaming and application software and equipment, software design software and equipment, basic electronics center, video and audio production, prototyping metal work and wood equipment, and much more.Members can access shared tools, pool their expertise and meet people with similar and diverse interests.

The InnovationLab is located at 101 Hospital Road in Sonora, California on the 3rd floor of the former Tuolumne General Hospital. It is open seven days a week and twenty four hours a day to its members.