Aurora school unveils plans for $1.9 million innovation center
A "front door" to the community will be open soon at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora.
School officials on Wednesday unveiled renderings for the new IN2 Steve and Jamie Chen Center for Innovation and Inquiry.
The $1.9 million center is being funded in part by a donation made in 2013 by YouTube co-founder and IMSA graduate Steve Chen.
"We are thrilled to be with all of you today to share this exciting moment where we move closer to realizing the dream of building Illinois' first secondary school innovation hub," IMSA board of trustees Chairwoman Sheila Griffin said.
The modern, open space will be built in an existing 6,400-square-foot area of the school. It will feature workstations with 3-D printers, informal and formal conference rooms for students to gather with each other or mentors, and a project board where students can post ideas they have and others can add to them, either in person or online.
The innovation hub idea was included in IMSA's last strategic plan, but really took root with Chen's $1 million gift.
School officials hope to finish the final phase of fundraising soon so construction can begin later this year and the building can open in conjunction with the school's 30th anniversary in 2016.
Britta McKenna, IMSA chief innovation officer, said she envisions the center being a place where representatives from educational institutions, labs and businesses will want to visit.
"This is IMSA's new front door to the community," she said. "We've largely been this residential school for gifted kids, but this opens it up to so many new possibilities because we are opening it up to the area to come in and work with us on ideas, on problems."
"I'm really looking forward to using the space to create new ideas, build my own businesses and basically just learn more about entrepreneurship," Sophomore Evan Sun said.
Sophomore Zach Ungerleider said he believes the center will provide great new opportunities for him and his classmates that the school currently can't provide on campus.
"I find that most students or young adults with ideas that could potentially become businesses or products don't have the resources or help they need to make them real," he said. "The innovation hub, the space itself is great, but it's the people and tools that we're going to put there that are really going to make it what its going to be."