The Audrie Gardham Ulmer '37 Center for Innovation & Design

The combination of our skilled faculty and state-of-the-art facilities supports key academic goals. These include expanding STEAM education for students in grades 6-12, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and encouraging creative problem-solving. To “awaken courage and intellect” and cultivate students who will “peacefully transform the world,” students must be equipped as problem solvers, creators, and critical thinkers.

The CID contains 3D filaments and resin printers, virtual reality headsets, CAD/CAM software, digital and audio media equipment, with a greenscreen and multiple smart boards. The design and prototyping studio features Glowforge laser cutters, a Nomad 3 CNC mill, crafting materials and tools, 3D doodling pens, sewing, tufting and embroidery machines, and even a bookbinding machine. Additionally, the fabrication studio is equipped with advanced woodworking equipment including a SawStop table saw, Laguna bandsaws, a ShopBot CNC router, Nova 35 Thunder Laser cutter and engraver, a WAZER waterjet cutter, two Fume Dog welding booth stations, a spray paint booth, and an array of workbenches and hand tools.

The CID is available to students throughout the entire school day. Students engage with real-world challenges, develop hands-on skills, and enhance their critical thinking and self-expression. Friends’ Central’s commitment to innovation is further reflected in course offerings such as design thinking, 3D fabrication, competitive robotics through the FIRST Robotics Lego League in the Middle School, and our award-winning Upper School FIRST Robotics team, the EARTHQUAKERS.

In 2022, Friends’ Central started the process to convert the former Rex Gymnasium into the new Audrie Gardham Ulmer '37 Center for Innovation and Design (CID). With an imaginative redesign of the former gym, the School repurposed a beloved space from our past to position ourselves for the short and long-term future of serving students and the broader community. The CID instantly became a campus favorite, serving as a hub of creativity for students in their STEAM education, both for class projects and during free time. The CID completed construction in the fall of 2024 and was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 20, 2024.