This family foundation has hands-on science learning at its heart

When Ping Faulhaber and her late husband, Fritz Faulhaber, looked around the community, they found so many worthy causes to support. But Dr. Fritz, as he was affectionately called, with a doctorate in mechanical engineering, saw the benefits of concentrating their efforts on a narrower focus. “Because otherwise, we’re spread out so thin that we feel like we’re not really making as much of an impact,” she says.

The couple started the Faulhaber Family Foundation, and then the Casey Key residents quickly settled on the area of science education. It was a natural fit for the two engineers — and a cause they were passionate about.

“It’s really what’s making society go forward, right?” says Faulhaber. “And there are just not enough science-related charities in the community, for whatever reasons.”

They started off by donating to area science centers and related organizations. But then they took things a step further. The couple knew not only how important science is to the world but also how fun it could be. And they were well aware of the statistics and research that showed the need for more students to enter STEM fields.

So they founded the Science Lending Library to give local students the opportunity for hands-on experiences that would hopefully encourage them to explore science-related careers. “The way we’re teaching our students, we’re very much textbook focused,” says Faulhaber. “And it’s really hard to really comprehend [certain things] without actual hands-on experience.”

Through the Science Lending Library, teachers across the Pinellas, Hillsborough and Sarasota County school districts could borrow experiential learning science kits to use with their students. “We wanted to make it very convenient for the teachers,” says Faulhaber, who has lived on Casey Key for more than 20 years. “There was no cost to the teachers, and then we provided delivery and pickup.”

The program was successful, but the couple wanted to do more. 

After learning about the Fab Lab at MIT, a digital fabrication workshop allowing students to turn their ideas into actual prototypes and products, the Faulhabers wanted to bring that concept to the Sarasota community. 

They started out with a space at the former G.Wiz science museum in Sarasota, funding the needed equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters plus the staff required to educate users. “Right away, the community just really just reacted,” says Faulhaber.

When G.Wiz closed, they didn’t want to give up on the concept. They kept the staff on the payroll and bought back the machines they had donated. Sarasota County Schools saw the benefits of having a facility like this near its Suncoast Polytechnical High School and offered the Faulhaber Fab Lab a nearby building from which to operate.

“So then we started for the second time,” says Faulhaber. “My husband was very persistent; he said we need to have this. And he convinced me to become executive director for the program.”

Photo by Harry Sayer

She’s been in that role for the past 10 years, running the Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab that’s supported by the Faulhaber Family Foundation (as well as many other private donors and foundations, including Gulf Coast Community Foundation, the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation and the Selby Foundation). The Science Lending Library still operates from there, but now just focuses on Sarasota County. Community residents can become members of the Fab Lab to gain access to its more than 30 pieces of high-tech equipment, and the site offers a number of programs to inspire future scientists and innovators.

High school volunteers run many of the programs, serving as near-peer mentors for younger students. “We give them space, and we give them the freedom for them to create different programs,” says Faulhaber, who has two young adult children. “They really have the opportunity to learn, to build their confidence and to use their creativity.” High schoolers gain both technical knowledge and soft skills that will serve them well in their careers.

The Faulhaber Family Foundation, which has assets of about $4 million according to public tax filings, also supports the community in other ways. Faulhaber serves on the boards of Ringling College of Art and Design and Gulf Coast Community Foundation, which gives her insight on local needs in areas like the arts and human services. 

She’s grateful that she and her late husband found themselves in a position to be able to help the community. (Fritz Faulhaber’s companies, in Clearwater and Germany, in total had more than 1,000 employees.) “My husband always said, when we leave this place, we want this place to be better than when we came here,” she says. “I think he really has done that, and I’m just continuing doing what was his vision.”