Our Story

Founded in July 2019 by Isabel Mendiola and Peter Haydock, Gearbox Labs, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) / 509 (a)(2) public charity incorporated in the State of Wisconsin, United States.

Watch our Introduction Video on YouTube.

With over 45 years of education experience in the classroom, education publishing, K-20 education, and adult learning, as well as numerous awards for their work, the founders created Gearbox Labs to address an international shortage of STEM professionals.

In 2022, Gearbox Labs was awarded the prestigious 2022 STEMMY Partnership Award from STEM Forward.

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Our mission is to produce cutting-edge and rigorous STEAM education resources, programs and experiences for schools, homeschools, out-of-school programs, and self-motivated learners.

Our first curriculum, The STEAM Edition, features 25 projects with 135 project extensions for a STEM/STEAM classroom. Our curriculum integrates engineering design, coding in C/C++, and digital prototyping into STEM/STEAM content.

We feature many data sensors in the book that can be used to collect data or control machines. We have written the book for grades 5 and up. The book can also be used in an afterschool or homeschool setting.

We piloted the curriculum in Isabel's classroom in Monterrey Mexico from 2015 - 2019 with over 1000 students from grades 7 through 9. The projects are easy to use, but at the same time rigorous.

Our second curriculum, The STEAM+C Classroom: Internet of Things Edition is now available. This curriculum features 25 projects with over 110 extensions that use Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS connected devices. There are new sensors and reporting capabilities in this curriculum. Skills include using apps, HTML, CSS for reporting data. 

Our third curricula is about to be released. The STEAM+C Classroom: STEM Data Edition will feature 26 projects that focus on collecting, storing, and presenting real-time and large data sets. Projects include connecting to Google Sheets, Excel, cellphone apps, and live graphing on TFT screens. We will also feature projects on collecting photo and video data.

Some of our more notable accomplishments is helping one student win the Mexican National Science and Engineering Competition in 2017 and 2018.

In 2020 and 2021 we provided support for Omro High School for their ice thickness measuring devices. The school won Samsung Solve for Tomorrow in 2020 and was an MIT-Lemelson 2021 winner.

In 2022 we mentored nine students in middle school. All nine students qualified for the Badger State Science and Engineering Fair. Six of the students qualified for the Broadcom Masters Science Fair. 

We have provided workshops for Make Community (Make Magazine and Maker Faires) through its Learning Lab program and Maker Campus as well as dozens of schools.

Gearbox Labs is also the producer of the Maker Faires in Milwaukee and Sheboygan (WI).