Verticals Makerspace & Entrepreneurship Center

06/03/2026

Seventeen students.
Seven teams.
Six weeks.
One final showcase.

Today, Brownsville students proved that a message can become much more than words on a shirt.

Verticals closed out the school year with the final showcase for T-Shirts for Social Change: Wear The Message at Brownsville Area School District — a six-week program where students used creativity, teamwork, and real-world thinking to build messages around issues that matter.

The program helps students understand that their ideas have value — and that a message can become a movement.

Under the leadership of Roxie Morris, students researched issues, collaborated in teams, designed messages, produced real shirts, displayed them on mannequins throughout the school, and presented the stories behind their work.

In week five, students traveled to Verticals Maker-space and Entrepreneurship Center for a hands-on experience in research and development, manufacturing, production, advertising, and marketing. Using commercial DTF printers, heat presses and emerging technology, they turned their ideas into real products.

Teachers voted on award categories, and today, on the final day of school, the middle school student body voted for the Student Choice Award.

The Top Design Award team received a $250 prize, while other teams were recognized with gift cards and certificates for creativity, impact, wearability, and community support.

And the real victory wasn’t the awards.
It was seeing students realize that their voice has value. That an idea can become a product.
That a message can start a conversation.
And that young people can create positive change in their community.

Wear The Message. Change The World.

06/02/2026

At Brick by Brick, we recognized a few creations in the categories of Most Creative, Best Mini World, and Best Weapon or Gadget. Congratulations to the students who walked away with certificates and all of the young people who took the chance to build boldly, think creatively, and show up knowing their ideas mattered.

📸:

06/02/2026

We challenged them to collaborate.

During our 30-minute build challenge, young artists broke into three teams of three or more and were asked to create around one theme: Futuristic Things That Move.

What followed was more than a fun activity. It was early STEM thinking in motion.

In that short window, children had to work together, share ideas, solve design problems, and build under pressure.

One team imagined a futuristic all-terrain vehicle that could move through the sky, on land, and underground.

It may sound far off, but every breakthrough idea starts with someone willing to imagine what does not exist yet.

Other teams created a vehicle with a hydraulic back end and an imaginative story build from our youngest artists featuring a dog chasing a boat.🤗🙌❤️

06/01/2026

Today’s Brick by Brick LEGO Art Showcase was awesome 🤩 filled with young creators, original builds, big smiles, and the kind of imagination that deserves to be celebrated 👏👏👏😎

06/01/2026

Today at Verticals, creativity took center stage.✨

Our Brick by Brick LEGO Art Showcase brought young builders together to imagine boldly, build proudly, and share what they created.

From detailed original builds to hands-on making at the tables, today was full of focus, fun, and big imagination.

What made it special was not just the LEGO pieces, it was watching kids turn ideas into something real, support each other, and light up with pride in their work.

Thank you to every child and family who came out and made today meaningful. This is what happens when creativity has room to grow

05/31/2026

A few hours away and we’re ready 🧱✨

Today from 2:00–5:00 PM, Verticals is hosting the Brick by Brick LEGO Art Showcase — a creative experience for kids and families filled with building, imagination, color, and fun.

The room is set. The showcase wall is up. The build tables are ready.

05/21/2026

🚨 Something rare is happening in the Mon Valley.

Today, robotics instructor Bob Atkinson and Hollywood creature designer Shawn Ronzio met at Verticals Makerspace to begin discussing the engineering the Monongahela Monster for this summer’s Mon Monster Robotics Program launching July 13.

This is going to be amazing 🤩

It’s workforce development in Fayette County and the Mon Valley — where students will gain hands-on experience in robotics, fabrication, mechanical systems, design, and creative technology alongside industry professionals.

At the end of the 6 week program, we will have brought to life the Mon Monster. Inspired by regional Indigenous river legends surrounding the mysterious Ogua of the Monongahela 🐢 It may even be able to swim🤞

Programs like this are uncommon in rural Pennsylvania.

That’s exactly why they matter.

We are building a pipeline from imagination → to innovation → to opportunity.

Only a few student spots remain.

📍 Verticals Makerspace & Entrepreneurship Center. 13 Arch Street, Brownsville, PA 15417

📞 Contact Bob Atkinson via call or text at 863-604-1744

05/21/2026

🙌👏👏👏Awesome!

Allderdice FIRST Robotics Team Runs Deep into World Competition

In March, Allderdice team 117, Steel Dragons, qualified for the World Championship FIRST Robotics Competition in Houston, Texas.

Over five days from the end of April into May, the Steel Dragons placed 5th in their division out of 75 competitors, leading to them becoming the #4 Seed Alliance Captain of three teams and a substitute. After the keen analysis of matches by the team scouts, they selected teams 9483 Overcharge from Istanbul, Türkiye, 955 Ctrl C from Corvallis, Oregon, and 7257 Semiconductors from Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

With their stellar performance by the drive team as leading scorers and the masterful pit crew keeping them in competitive shape, they led their alliance to the semi-finals. This is the farthest run for team 117 in their storied history since 1998. Congratulations to the students and their mentors on an amazing season. We thank our generous partners: Howmet-Aerospace Foundation, Arconic Foundation, Gene Haas Foundation, The Thrifty Bot, the Allderdice PTO, and other sponsors.

Pittsburgh Public Schools has over 25 FIRST Robotics teams spanning K-12 across the district. For more information about our programs and how to join or support them, please contact Vincent Scotto, STEAM Coordinator, at vscotto1@pghschools.

For more information about 177 Steel Dragons, please visit www.steeldragons.org

05/20/2026

The 2026 School Guide, a ranking of top-scoring public school districts in Pittsburgh region, is here, based on three years of standardized test scores. This year looks at state test scores from 2023, 2024 and 2025. Rankings in the School Guide come from crunching these scores based on the Business Times' proprietary formula. >>See the rankings at the link below ⬇️