Gearbox Labs

08/26/2026

Calling all high school students in and around : Are you ready to explore the power—and possibilities—of artificial intelligence?

Join the Mark Cuban Foundation and Gearbox Labs for three Saturdays this fall for a FREE, hands-on AI Bootcamp designed especially for high school students.

You will:

🚀 Learn from national experts in
💡 Build practical skills using today’s AI tools
🧠 Explore how AI works—and how to use it responsibly
🛠️ Develop a unique capstone project that brings your ideas to life

No previous AI experience is required—just curiosity and a willingness to learn!

Applications are open now through September 30, 2026, and space is limited.

Learn more and apply today: https://lnkd.in/g_Kr4KkK

A huge thank-you to Northwestern Mutual for sponsoring this exciting new opportunity for Milwaukee-area students.

08/24/2026

The 2026–2027 school year is almost here—and Gearbox Labs is gearing up for an incredible year of STEM learning across Wisconsin!

We want to give a huge shout-out to Generac for its continued partnership and support. Because of this investment, Gearbox Labs will bring our STEM residencies to at least 15 classrooms across six school districts this year.

We will kick things off in Elkhorn before traveling to Berlin, Waukesha, Johnson Creek, Jefferson High School, and Whitewater throughout the school year.

We are especially excited to introduce a brand-new program featuring Micro:bits, along with our established programs in 3D design and 3D printing, Sphero Bolt+'s, engineering, electronics, coding, and more.

Each residency gives students the opportunity to imagine, design, build, experiment, and discover what they are capable of becoming.

We are energized by the opportunity to reach so many students and educators—and deeply grateful for Generac’s continued belief in our work. It is going to be an exciting year!

08/20/2026

Calling high school students in and around Milwaukee! Join Mark Cuban Foundation and Gearbox Labs for 3 Saturdays this Fall and expand your horizons in an AI Bootcamp.

This is a free program for High School students.

Learn from national experts in AI, practice your new skills, and develop a unique capstone project.

Applications are now open and close on September 30, 2026. There is limited space.

For more information and to apply https://lnkd.in/g_Kr4KkK

Thank you to Northwestern Mutual for sponsoring this new event in Milwaukee.

06/25/2026

After the successful launch, our day continued with a workshop Rice University's Center for STEM Engagement.

Isabel Mendiola and Peter Haydock led a workshop for Gearbox Labs, Inc. on coding in C++ using Arduino-connected sensors.

We had an amazing workshop with local educators who built and tested their own soil moisture sensor using a UNO.

Thank you to all who came to the 10th floor and attended our workshop. Everyone kept their project kits and will receive one of our books.

06/25/2026

What an amazing day!

It started out at 4:15 am with our student's first Cubes In Space launch. Right on time at 4:30 am CDT, SR-12 launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Here's the launch by the numbers:

Launched at 05:30 EDT
Reached apogee of 185.8 km at 214.5 seconds post launch - yes space!
Downrange impact 121.81 km off the coast of Wallops Island in the Atlantic Ocean.

We'll get the rocket cube back and process the data!

The cube shared a ride with other student payloads from NASA's RockOn and RockSat programs.

Check out the full video here. https://www.youtube.com/live/AU4NzyMkXCM?si=CvJD0hzdwbNZlNML

We are super proud of our team of 7th and 8th graders who planned, soldered, tested, and coded in microPython, a complex project of multiple sensors and a data storage SD card.

Congratulations to their mentor Isabel Mendiola on her first project in space!

Gearbox Labs, Inc. is proud to support the team with additional mentorship, coding guidance, and financial support to make their dream of going to space a reality.

NASA's Wallops Flight Facility is scheduled to launch a sounding ro...

06/22/2026

One of the best things about teaching a workshop is bringing people together from different parts of the community. In our last workshop at Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), we had students from Milwaukee and Brookfield taking our Internet of Things workshop.

Our students designed, coded, and built a portable weather station that could connect to their home network and display on a webpage the ambient temperature and humidity.

The students learned about C++ coding and how to build and edit webpages using HTML inside of the code. They learned about libraries, loops, HTML, data collecting and how to connect a microcontroller to a router.

Congratulations to our learners.

Thank you Northwestern Mutual for supporting our work in the community. Thank you MSOE, for opening the doors of the We Energies STEM Center to us.

06/18/2026

On June 16, we had the privilege of joining National STEM Festival presented by EXPLR Champion Nikayla for a behind-the-scenes tour of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM School of Freshwater Sciences, accompanied by her mother, and her research mentor, Isabel Mendiola.

Special thanks to Liz Sutton for coordinating the visit and to Rachel Smith, who generously shared her Ph.D. research on quagga mussels, an invasive species impacting Lake Michigan. During the tour, Nikayla learned how researchers collect, maintain, and study quagga mussels using a variety of scientific techniques and technologies. She also explored the ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) garage, where scientists house the submersible vehicles used to study aquatic ecosystems beneath the lake's surface.

Along the way, we met Jessica Grow, who shared insights into the buoy monitoring network used to collect critical environmental data throughout Lake Michigan. Seeing both the ROVs and monitoring buoys in action provided a firsthand look at the technology supporting freshwater research across the Great Lakes.

Nikayla's journey to becoming a National STEM Festival Champion began in Isabel's classes, where she spent the past two years developing her skills in electronics, coding, and environmental sensing. Through hands-on projects, she learned to use sensors that measure pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, and water temperature. These experiences sparked her interest in the invasive zebra mussel and eventually led her to investigate its successor in the Great Lakes ecosystem—the quagga mussel.

Combining her interests in environmental science and technology, Nikayla designed and programmed a device that could potentially help identify conditions favorable to quagga mussel populations. As part of her research, she collected and analyzed water samples from locations stretching from Sheboygan to Kenosha, studying how environmental conditions varied across Lake Michigan's shoreline.

At Gearbox Labs, we are proud to have supported Nikayla's work by providing the sensors she used in her research. These same sensors are used throughout our educational programs, and it has been inspiring to see a student leverage them to conduct a meaningful scientific investigation. We even had the opportunity to 3D print one of her designs for a floating sensor platform.

Visiting the School of Freshwater Sciences and meeting the researchers advancing our understanding of the Great Lakes made it easy to imagine Nikayla returning someday as a scientist herself. Her curiosity, creativity, and dedication are exactly what STEM education is designed to inspire.

🎉 Join us in celebrating Nikayla's remarkable achievement as a National STEM Festival Champion and watch her award-winning submission video below!

https://youtu.be/6AXP0mxNyjU?si=3b5eX8b4SdtA08E7

05/11/2026

Last call for our AI Prompt Writing Workshop. Perfect for students and teachers wanting to amp up their AI prompt writing skills!

See the link for more details and registration information.

https://store.gearboxlabs.org/index.php?route=product/product&language=en-gb&product_id=59&path=59

05/01/2026

LAST CALL for workshops at MSOE Saturday, May 2, 2026 (tomorrow).

Intro to Arduino

https://store.gearboxlabs.org/index.php?route=product/product&language=en-gb&product_id=57&path=59

3D Design and 3D Printing

https://store.gearboxlabs.org/index.php?route=product/product&language=en-gb&product_id=58&path=59

04/26/2026

We are incredibly proud to share that our Executive Director, Isabel Mendiola M.Ed, has been selected as a Society for Science STEM Advocate for the 2026–2027 cohort.

Out of more than 250 applicants nationwide, Isabel was chosen as one of just 100 educators recognized for their leadership and commitment to expanding access to hashtag research opportunities—especially for students who have been historically underrepresented in science and engineering.

The Society for Science Advocate Program is a highly selective, year-long initiative that equips educators with training, mentorship, and resources to guide students through authentic scientific research and into national and international competitions. Advocates play a critical role in helping students not only conduct meaningful research but also develop the confidence, communication skills, and persistence needed to share their work with the broader scientific community.

This work is deeply aligned with Isabel’s career.

With more than two decades of experience as a STEM educator, curriculum designer, and program leader, Isabel has built her career around creating inclusive, inquiry-driven learning environments where students learn by designing, building, and solving real-world problems.

As co-founder of Gearbox Labs—a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to rigorous STEM education—she has helped bring engineering, coding, and data-driven science experiences to students across the United States and internationally.

Her work has already led to measurable impact:
• Students earning top placements in regional, national, and international competitions
• Development of STEM curricula used in 49 states and more than 40 countries
• Mentorship of students in programs ranging from local science fairs to national STEM festivals

Now, through the Society for Science Advocate Program, Isabel will extend that impact even further—working directly with students to help them transition from classroom learning to authentic research and competitive STEM pathways.

At its core, this recognition is about more than an individual honor.
It represents a broader mission: ensuring that all students—regardless of background—have access to the opportunities, mentorship, and support needed to see themselves as scientists, engineers, and innovators.
We’re honored to support Isabel in this next chapter and excited to see the doors this work will open for students in our community and beyond.