North Minneapolis school unveils multimedia lab designed by former Paisley Park technical director

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Students at Franklin Middle School strike pose in their new multimedia lab.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - At Franklin Middle School in north Minneapolis, a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday unveiled a brand new multimedia literacy lab. What was once an old storage room is now a hub of cutting edge technology where opportunities are limitless.

“Kids can change the world, they just need the tools and opportunity to do that,” said Manuela Testollini, the founder of the Perfect World Foundation.

Testollini is carrying on the philanthropic legacy of her one-time husband Prince.

“He wanted to do education and music, and he talked about Paisley Park being an educational institution...so as much as we can keep that going is really important to me and us as an organization,” said Testollini.

The lab was created by Dave Hampton, the former technical director of Paisley Park.

“To have someone of that caliber walk into your school, into your old book room, and into your old storage room and basically build a state-of-the-art multimedia lab, what an honor, what an honor,” said Michael Bratsch, and English and second language teacher.

Also on hand was Andre Cymone, Prince’s former bassist and childhood best friend.

“We’re beyond grateful, appreciation really is the theme of the day when it comes down to it,” said Bratsch.

From creating music to visual arts, it's a space where they can tap into their talents, realize their gifts and showcase their talents.  

“To see this vision come to life is really very special, so it’s a feeling we want to have again, so we’ll be back,” said Testollini.