A science educator is proposing to open a STEM and AI training center in Lansdale's vacant Wells Fargo building, offering high school students hands-on lab experience and mentorship modeled on his successful Doylestown program. The initiative would both revitalize a long-dormant downtown property and create a regional science education hub connected to the area's pharmaceutical and biotech employers, helping students explore research careers before committing to college majors.
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John Kulp, an associate professor at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, presented a plan to convert the second floor of the former Wells Fargo bank building at 210 W. Main St. into a STEM and AI training center. The center would offer summer and after-school programs combining science, technology, engineering, math and artificial intelligence education for high school students, mirroring a successful program Kulp has run in Doylestown that has grown to more than 40 students annually.
Why it matters
The proposal would fill a long-vacant downtown space while creating a regional science hub that connects local students to hands-on research, mentorship and internships—opportunities typically found on college campuses or in biotech corridors. Given Lansdale's proximity to pharmaceutical and life sciences employers, the center could help students determine whether they want to pursue science careers while strengthening the borough's economic development through both workforce pipeline development and downtown revitalization.
What to watch
Kulp is not seeking borough funding; instead he is pursuing support through philanthropy, private donations and Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credit program, which provides businesses major tax credits for donations to approved educational initiatives. The Doylestown program's success—with participants advancing to state and international science competitions and winning scholarships—serves as the model the Lansdale center would replicate.
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