Photo courtesy of Mattress Factory

By Alyse Horn

Mattress Factory will be holding an ARTLab event from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 5 and Saturday, May 3 in the lobby of the museum.

ARTLab allows people of all ages to “come together and create art though laboratory style activities that promote and encourage visitors to use different materials and discover the benefit of problem solving with their hands,” according to the website.

The April 5 workshop, “Solar Panel Jamboree,” is part three of the Photovoltaic Solar Energy and Art Series. Attendees will get to work hands-on with real solar panels provided by electrical engineer Mark Barlow, founder of DC to Power. Indigo Raffel, an educator with Conservation Consultants Inc., will also assist visitors in creating their own solar prints.

The May 3 workshop will be the fourth and final part of the ARTLab series, called “Searching for the Sun.” this particular session will focus on solar energy as en employment opportunity and feature Fred Underwood from Pittsburgh-based solar panel company Underwood Solar Future LLC. Underwood will be doing a solar siting and show of his Solar Pathfinder. Raffel will also be attending to help facilitate solar prints and educational games.

Both ARTLabs are free with museum admission.

For more information, click here.