Fab Lab Tulsa is a nonprofit makerspace dedicated to expanding learning, career, and economic opportunities through innovation, design thinking, and problem solving. Located in Tulsa's Kendall-Whittier neighborhood, we provide education, workforce development, community programs, and business support alongside open access to advanced manufacturing and digital fabrication technologies.
As an IRS-qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Fab Lab Tulsa serves learners, makers, entrepreneurs, educators, and community members of all ages. Through hands-on experiences and access to state-of-the-art equipment, we empower individuals to turn ideas into reality while building the skills needed for success in a rapidly changing world.
Fab Lab Tulsa is part of a global network of more than 2,300 MIT-chartered Fab Labs operating in over 120 countries. As the first Fab Lab established in the southeastern United States, we have become recognized as one of the leading labs in the international Fab Lab community due to our leadership, organizational capacity, facilities, and community impact.
The Fab Lab Movement
The Fab Lab concept originated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) through the work of Professor Neil Gershenfeld, founder and director of the Center for Bits and Atoms. His groundbreaking course, How to Make Almost Anything, gave students access to digital fabrication tools and demonstrated the extraordinary creativity and innovation that emerge when people have the resources to design and build their own solutions.
Working with community leader Mel King and the South End Technology Center at Tent City in Boston, MIT expanded this concept beyond the university setting. By making the same tools and opportunities available to the public, the first community-based Fab Lab was born.
Today, Fab Labs exist across the globe, connected through a shared commitment to innovation, education, collaboration, and local problem solving. Fab Lab Tulsa follows the Fab Charter, supports the Fab Foundation, participates in the global Fab Lab network, and maintains active membership in the Higher Education Makerspace Initiative.
Fab Lab Tulsa original logo unveiling at Circle Cinema in 2010
Our History
Fab Lab Tulsa began in the fall of 2008 when a group of community leaders, educators, and innovators came together with a vision of bringing digital fabrication and maker-centered learning to Tulsa.
The project's first major supporter was the Community Action Project of Tulsa County, which funded visits to MIT and the Southeast Boston Fab Lab. These experiences strengthened the team's vision and confirmed that Tulsa could benefit from a similar community resource.
In early 2009, the project partnered with Kendall Whittier, Inc., a neighborhood nonprofit focused on improving quality of life in the Kendall-Whittier community. The neighborhood's central location, economic development potential, and proximity to The University of Tulsa made it an ideal home for the future lab.
Support grew rapidly. By July 2009, the initiative secured its first donor and attracted strong community enthusiasm. In 2010, Fab Lab Tulsa, Inc. was incorporated as an independent Oklahoma nonprofit organization, laying the foundation for a permanent facility.
In September 2011, Fab Lab Tulsa officially opened its first location. The facility was named the Hardesty Center for Fab Lab Tulsa in recognition of the support provided by the Hardesty Family Foundation.
After more than a decade of growth and community service, Fab Lab Tulsa expanded into a new, purpose-built facility to increase capacity and broaden its impact. In April 2022, the organization dedicated its new 14,000-square-foot headquarters at 501 South Lewis Avenue as the renamed Hardesty Hub for Makers.
A major milestone followed on January 1, 2024, when Fab Lab Tulsa became an official affiliate of The University of Tulsa. This affiliation formalized a partnership that had grown over more than a decade and united two organizations with a shared commitment to transformational education, innovation, and community impact.
Together, Fab Lab Tulsa and the University of Tulsa are leveraging their combined expertise, resources, and networks to expand access to hands-on learning, strengthen workforce development opportunities, and increase the organization's regional and national impact.
