Nebraska ELO Design Studio

Through the ELO Design Studio, a core component of BSB’s ELO Innovation Network, BSB works with partners to identify, pilot and refine innovative new approaches to afterschool and summer learning.  An early design studio success was our Think Make Create (TMC) Labs, which has grown from a pilot project seven years ago to a fleet of more than sixty spread out over Nebraska and four other states.  Building on this success, over the past two years Design Studio projects have included providing support to communities to experiment with using High School students as staff, a promising practice that will only gain more importance as communities across the state deal with widespread staffing challenges. 

The Design Studio also has a track record of engaging college students as designers of hands on, engaging club activities.  Examples of college student-led design modules include a wind energy unit developed by Wayne State College students and ACTivate a college and career readiness curriculum developed by UNL Honors students.  Most recently, the Studio has supported the use of UNL and Southeast Community College students to help jump start operations of our newest innovation, Freight Farm, a high tech container farm, that promises to inspire Nebraska youth to design the food systems that will feed a growing Nebraska. 

• Nebraska ELO Design Challenge videos