FLORIDA LAB

Started in 2021, the Floridalab citizen laboratory is a co-creation space to promote citizen science projects through digital manufacturing and new technologies applied to the environment.

During the first two years of operation, this space has trained and been nourished by volunteers from the city whom we have trained and connected with creators and professionals in the art / new technologies / environment sector.

Floridalab is a citizen laboratory and co-creation space, which works through digital manufacturing and the use of new technologies applied to the environment.

Teacher and technical training: in 2022, two cycles of 12 sessions, completely free, from 5 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday at the Cultural Ecological Center. The first cycle ended on April 11, 2022. In 2023; February – April, September – December. 12 2-hour sessions, 1 day a week.

APS projects: projects carried out in 2022 include an air quality mediator, a system to improve local biodiversity (birds) with 3D printing, among others. Looking ahead to 2023-2023; May – June, September – June 2024 Carried out with 6 total local agents, a minimum of 6 2-hour sessions of design and implementation of the prototype with each of them. 36 total sessions at least.

METHODOLOGY

Citizen spaces of co-creation and experimentation are communities of practice that are developing real projects in real spaces. These initiatives work for urban empowerment and develop critical processes about the environment where we propose to intervene. New forms of self-management and co-responsibility make it possible to generate new opportunities, governance and new economic models. That is why we understand innovation in terms of citizenship, due to the great capacity they have to penetrate society, promoting recursiveness and network thinking. It is also important to understand what we mean by citizen innovation:

It is the right to change things that do not work, but doing it ourselves. Thus, we speak of innovation not as a process exclusive to large technological centers, but as a resource that is also found in our cities and social environments. Citizen innovation as the ability to change what does not work from everyday life, from our environment and without resorting to overly complex or hierarchical structures.

We carry out two lines of project:

  • Training teachers and technicians in digital manufacturing projects, Arduino and citizen science. 
  • Learning and environmental service projects: With the knowledge acquired, we co-lead environmental PHC projects with trained professionals to generate impact in the neighborhood.