By 5 p.m. last Friday, most of NextFab’s members had left for the day.

The Washington Avenue makerspace’s second floor was mostly empty and quiet, save for a few staffers closing up shop. But Courtney Labbon was hard at work, protective goggles strapped on, building a motor for an underwater robot.

Labbon, 18, a student at North Philly’s Carver High School Engineering & Science, is on the robotics team of Philadelphia Futures, a nonprofit that aims to help low-income students attend college. The team has been working since October to build their entry to the annual Greater Philadelphia SeaPerch Challenge, where their robot will race to fetch objects and complete an obstacle course, all underwater, this April at Drexel University.

It’s the fifth year in a row that NextFab has hosted the Philadelphia Futures robotics team, said NextFab president Evan Malone, who also acts as the team’s coach. The team members learn about topics like buoyancy, vectors and circuits, Labbon said.


Other students on the team come from schools across the city like Bodine High School for International Affairs, High School of the Future and Samuel S. Fels High School.

Working with @PhillyFutures and their great students on @seaperch is a highlight of my year! @TechnicallyPHL @NextFab_PHL — Evan Malone (@evanNFS) February 7, 2015

-30-