Fab Lab Tulsa is an IRS qualified 501 (c) (3) tax exempt; not-for-profit makerspace located in the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Fab Lab Tulsa is focused on expanding learning, career, and economic opportunities through the delivery of education, community, workforce, and business programming that teaches innovation, design-thinking, and problem-solving. In addition, the lab provides open community access to advanced manufacturing and digital fabrication tools, equipment, technology, and resources. Fab Lab Tulsa is one of over 2,300 MIT-chartered Fab Labs in more than 120 countries (Fab Foundation, 2025), and the first in the southeastern region of the U.S. Furthermore, it is one of the top labs globally in terms of leadership, organization, support, size, and capabilities, illustrating the impact a Fab Lab can make on a community.
What's a Fab Lab?
The Fab Lab (fabrication laboratory) concept was developed at MIT by Professor Neil Gershenfeld, founder and head of the Center for Bits and Atoms, who developed an extremely popular course titled “How to Make Almost Anything.” As part of the class, he gave his students access to a fabrication laboratory containing fundamental cutting, milling, and electronic tools. What he found, not surprisingly, is that there was no end to what his students could create when given access to tools, equipment, and resources. Through a collaboration with Mel King at the South End Technology Center at Tent City, they put the same resources available to MIT students in a community space, calling it a Fab Lab, giving ordinary people the ability to make whatever they want. Inspired by the transformative results, Dr. Gershenfeld encouraged others to open similar Fab Labs in their own communities around the world. Fab Lab Tulsa follows The Fab Charter, supports the Fab Foundation, is a member of Maker USA and the Higher Education Makerspace Initiative, and participates in the national and global community.
Fab Lab Tulsa original logo unveiling at Circle Cinema in 2010
Our History
The Fab Lab Tulsa team formed initially in the Fall of 2008 following inspiration from a local aerospace company. The group’s first caretaker was the Community Action Project of Tulsa County, which funded a visit to MIT and the southeast Boston Fab Lab. Shortly thereafter, at the beginning of 2009, the team began a partnership with Kendall Whittier, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of residents of the Kendall Whittier neighborhood. This was especially fortunate because the team had already identified the neighborhood as an ideal location for Fab Lab Tulsa because of the area’s central location, economic needs, and its proximity to the University of Tulsa. With Kendall Whittier, Inc. the project blossomed. Starting in July 2009, the team attracted its first donor, as well as an abundance of community goodwill. In the Summer of 2010, Fab Lab Tulsa, Inc. formed as an independent Oklahoma non-profit corporation to bring Fab Lab Tulsa to fruition. The named sponsor for the project was the Hardesty Family Foundation; and during the grand opening ceremony in September of 2011, the original facility was dedicated as the Hardesty Center for Fab Lab Tulsa.
After more than 10 years of growing community service, Fab Lab Tulsa constructed a new facility to expand its capacity and increase its impact. The new 14,000 square foot building at 501 S. Lewis Ave. in the Kendall Whittier neighborhood was rededicated in April of 2022 as the Hardesty Hub for Makers. Subsequently, on January 1, 2024, Fab Lab Tulsa became an affiliate of the University of Tulsa, which formalized a decade long partnership with the university. Both parties share similar educational missions to provide empowering learning experiences, as well as strong cultural symmetries. The shared objective between Fab Lab Tulsa and the University of Tulsa is to leverage our combined organizational capacity to expand the labs outreach and impact.
