Hosting international fellows is always an opportunity to see our work through someone else’s eyes, and Rico’s experience welcoming Graziella to the Skylab beautifully illustrates the power of cross‑cultural exchange. His reflection below captures the energy, curiosity, and shared learning that unfolded during her visit, offering a firsthand look at how hands‑on, people‑centered teaching can bridge differences and spark creativity. Rico’s words highlight how meaningful these encounters can be for both educators and students.
Key takeaways from the visit
“Firstly, Graziella was is amazing. Her passion to find a way to make a Fablab the place to spark success in young minds is infectious. We had many great conversations on the subject, comparing notes about our respective success and failures.
Beyond that, I was impressed by how, despite a language barrier, fablab-style teaching techniques can still get important learnings across to kids. Of course everyone (me and the parents who attended) pitched in to translate Graziella’s ideas into words that the Japanese kids could understand. But with the initial instructions out of the way, the kids understood the ‘mission’ and tackled it with passion matching Graziella’s own.
The cross-cultural nature of the Chevron program is truly a valuable feature.”
Notable projects or practices you observed
“Kids learn, even when there are language issues, when they are able to engage in activities physically. Get hands-on. Get their hands dirty…and difficult to understand concepts become less so.
Graziella’s workshop involved clay as a means to activate interest in the activity that she wanted to pursue…ideation and documentation.”