Outreach with a 3D Printer

A public library having a 3D printer for free use to the public still wows our community.

I had the opportunity to show off TWO of our Lulzbot Minis! During a recent Tool Library Meeting, I reconnected with the Neighborhood Liaison for City of Vancouver.  He connected me with a member of the Watershed Monitoring Network, who is working with the City of Vancouver Water Resource Center for Second Saturday. They were very interested in having the library at their July Second Satruday: Design Zone Day -- Engineer Your Creativity. Event description:

Explore your creativity with the Water Resources Education Center’s new exhibition – Design Zone! July’s Second Saturday event will become ‘Design Zone Day,’ and allow inquisitive minds to engineer and explore their own creativity. Design Zone is a highly interactive, hands-on exhibition where visitors can explore concepts highlighting the importance of science and mathematical thinking in areas critical to building creativity and innovation, especially in art, music and engineering. The expanded Second Saturday event, from 1 to 4 p.m., offers time to explore the Design Zone exhibit and also participate in design challenges, demonstrations and hands-on science-based learning.

Design Zone is presented at the Water Center with partner, JACOBS, and will be on display through the end of August. The Water Center is free to the public with general hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. The creation of Design Zone was made possible by the generous support of the National Science Foundation. The exhibition was produced and is toured by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI).

I loaded up my Chevy Sonic with an A/V cart and two of our minis (Freddie Prints Jr. and FRVLibraries, if you care to know) and drove them down to the Center. We had a great spot inside their air-conditioned building with the local high school robotics club, Repair Clark County, and JACOBS.

For this event, I wanted to demonstrate the practicality of 3D printing.  And I also wanted a print that would be (relatively) quick. I chose these gecko earbud holders. Our minis can print two every ~56 minutes, so I printed 50 beforehand and produced 12 more during the event.

Along with the earbuds patrons could take, I made sure to have some neat examples on-hand, including the Raptor Reloaded, spiral vase, fish fossilz, and the chessmen from the British Museum.

My conversations with the public included a discussion of how they can get access to print their own things (through Intro to 3D Design, Open Lab, and Certification) as well as the types of things other certified users have created. In addition to the many families I spoke with, I made contacts with the Boys & Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts of America, and UL to work on partnerships to create learning opportunities for their groups.

I love these types of outreach events and the second look people give the 3D printer after I tell them they can learn how to use the equipment for themselves for free.