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.
With over 45 years of education experience in the classroom, education publishing, and children and adult learning as well as numerous awards for their work, the founders created Gearbox Labs to address an international shortage of STEM professionals.
Our mission is to produce cutting-edge and rigorous STEAM education resources and programs for schools, homeschools, out-of-school programs, and self-motivated learners.
Our first curriculum, The STEAM+C Classroom: STEAM Edition, features 25 projects with 110 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.
Since publishing this edition, we have written several supplements featuring new sensors, a thematic guide around flight, and starter guides in English and Spanish.
We piloted the curriculum in Monterrey Mexico between 2015 and 2019 in an elite private school with hundreds of students from grades 7 through 9. The projects are easy to use, but at the same time rigorous. One student used the book as the foundation for her winning the Mexican National Science and Engineering Competition in 2017 and 2018.
Our second book, The STEAM+C Classroom: Internet of Things Edition features 25 projects for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS connected devices. The book focuses on practical applications with sensors and controls.
Our forthcoming book, The STEAM+C Classroom: STEM Data Edition, features projects for science and engineering fairs that collect large amounts of data. Whether to an SD card, Google Sheets, or Excel live data capture is the primary focus. A section on the new ESP-EYE webcam is also included.