2nd Annual Crappy Robotics Tournament: 2018 Hebocon

This week we hosted our 2nd annual Hebocon: Crappy Robotics Tournament!  Hebocon is my favorite program and I love how people interact and work together in true maker spirit to make the crappiest robots possible.

Overall, the program format didn't vary too much from 2017 Hebocon. A few changes I made for a smoother process and to cater to our family-friendly attendees:

1). Everyone built with the same chassis. By far, the flip-over battery-powered cars from Dollar Tree made the best robot. I started stockpiling them earlier in the year. I can never find these cars listed on the website, but this is what they look like:

 I am not looking forward to the day these cars are no longer carried by Dollar Tree. I can only hope that my insane buying sprees throw off their inventory and they continue to restock them, if nowhere else, then at least in their North Portland/ Southwest Washington stores.

2). All chassis were stripped of their car shells and batteries installed before the program (thanks to wonderful Library Intern Katie!).  I think the deconstruction piece is an important aspect of any maker project, but I abandoned this step to make it a little less stressful for participants and staff members! Last year, we had a few chassis models for people to choose from. The tricky thing is the variety of tiny screwdrivers needed to dismantle the chassis and the inevitable shortage of the correct screwdriver.  Even the cars we went with were a challenge as the battery compartment cover is secured with a tiny screw and the car shell is attached to the chassis with deep inset tiny screws. Once the car is dismantled, you have to snip the headlight wires free from the circuit without nicking the motor wires. I really wanted the LEDs as part of the circuit, but they're tiny and really glued into the headlamp, so not worth the struggle...this time.

Box o' chassis at registration:

When participants arrived, they were given a numbered registration form, so they know the build specifications, and a chassis.

 They turned their completed registration form back in with the robot during the judging phase to make sure all the robots met build specification (and so everyone had the chance to see the robots all together before the tournament).

3). All supplies were provided by the library. No home builds this year. The staple items for this program:
scissors
hot glue
masking tape
duct tape
cardboard
paper

Everything else was left up to whatever I had squirreled away throughout the year. 2018 included:
CDs
5.25" floppy discs
Squares of foam
Styrofoam (bad idea)
pipe cleaners
off-brand building bricks
coffee stirrers
plastic cups
Wires
Keyboard keys
Computer Keyboard circuits

4). Build time was limited to 1 hour. Last year we started build at 4 pm and competition at 6 pm. Early attendees became restless and most of our attendees arrived around 5 pm, so we shortened the build window this year.  I also built all the Hebocon trophies in an hour, so I felt that amount of time sufficient.

5). Audience Choice and registration were more organized this year. We checked in all the completed robots promptly at 6 pm by adding them to a master list, weighed the robots, made sure they were smaller than 20"x20" and then set them all up with their numbered registration form for everyone to vote for the most creative robot. Everyone wrote the number of their choice on a slip of paper. A Hebocon Official gathered all the votes and tallied them while we battled the bots. While attendees voted, another Hebocon Official took the master registration list, cut it into strips and arranged the strips into a randomized bracket (no need to enter them into a paper bracket). I felt this was my most clever hack to make the tournament progress at a quicker and more organized pace! 

6). A Hebocon Official recorded all the battles so we could refer to instant replay if needed. There were a few instances where it wasn't clear which robot actually went out of the ring first after they collided, so the video was helpful. We did also have to use the robot that traveled the furthest distance rule as well as audience vote for the winner of a tricky battle. A bonus to recording all the battles is access to some exciting footage!

Hebocon is a great design-thinking project and encourages open-ended making. Other than size and weight and don't destroy other robots, there are no build instructions. This program encourages creative play and exploration and appeals to a wide range of participants. Our youngest competitor was just a toddler, and our oldest was a retiree. Families, friends, and siblings worked together to build very different robots and appreciated the other robots because they knew how much work went into the building process. Hebocon continues to be a community-building project that brings people from different backgrounds together to have fun!

Maker Outreach: Girls in STEM Event

Evergreen Public School’s College, Career & Technical Education Department hosted a Girls in STEM event. This event, geared toward girls in 5th - 8th grade, provides an opportunity for girls and their families to get hands-on with interactive STEM workshops and displays. I received an invitation via Justin to attend this program on behalf of Outreach Services.

We originally offered to host a 3D printing workshop, but the coordinators asked us to provide a different workshop topic, as Evergreen Public Schools was already offering a 3D printing workshop. Evergreen Public Schools also offered workshops in: Intro to Architecture, Chemistry, Computer Programming, Aerial Exploration, Sphero Programming, Anatomical Hand Prosthetic Design, Game Design, and STEAM Academy. Other workshops offered by community partners included: Drone Technology (Mackay Sposito), Coding Software (TEALS), Manufacturing with Paper Cranes (SEHAmerica), Invent, Design, and Innovate (Curiate), Creative Pharmacy (Kaiser), Architecture (LSW Architects).

Community Partners who provided interactive tables included: West Vancouver Dental, WA Dept Fish & Wildlife, HOSA, WSDOT, Underwriters Laboratories, WaferTech, Frontier MS Spheros, WSUV CMDC Program, Donate Life NW, EPS Robotics Clubs, EPS Video Game Design, Clark College STEM Nerd Girls and Geek program.

Fort Vancouver Libraries hosted a table with clothespin switch circuits as well as two workshops on soldering.We worked with over 150 girls and their parents to introduce them to basic circuitry and electronics. The girls, many of whom had never heard of soldering before, were initially intimidated by the soldering irons. Once they got the hang of the skill, they were unstoppable and assisted one another in troubleshooting and completing badges. We successfully soldered 32 robot badges, with only one faulty badge!  In addition to myself, the Youth Services Librarian, a Senior Assistant from my branch and a Senior Assistant from Cascade Park assisted with this outreach event. The Library’s workshop and booth appeared to be one a few hands-on spaces with a take-away project at the event, making us very popular!

It's important to note that I had a difficult time finding the Make Magazine Learn2Solder Robot badges. This batch came from eBay. They didn't come with batteries, but that wasn't too big a deal. The +/- were not labeled for the LEDs and the LEDs provided were solid red, not color-changing blinking lights, but they still went over pretty well. I am now on the hunt for a comparable replacement. There are a lot of Learn2Solder badges, but the ones I have found are a little more than I want to get into at a beginner level and with big groups.

(Photo by Brighid Lane)

I ran into a couple of the Girls in our Fall 2018 Girls Who Code Club. They told me they attended the coding sessions and were bored because their coding skills are already well above what was covered in the class. I am one proud librarian!

3D Printer Filament-Making Workshop

Proto-Pasta is a Vancouver-based filament making company. Their team of 12 employees design and produce high grade filament for 3D printing enthusiasts in a 10,000 square foot warehouse in East Vancouver. I attended their all-day training on how they create their High Temperature Polylactic Acid filament (HTPLA). HTPLA prints at higher temperatures but provides improved mechanical results than the lower-melting traditional PLA. HTPLA is still fume-free and biodegradable.

I attended this session with 11 other participants.  Most were hobbyists or engineers, with one couple that designs high-powered foam bullet toys. Participants came from Vancouver, Camas, Hillsboro, Seattle, and Atlanta to attend this event. Proto-Pasta is one of the few independent 3D filament shops around that allow consumers onto their shop floor to see how the process works.  Much of their equipment is cobbled together out of repurposed machinery. I appreciated their conversation about how their work flow is an iterative process and they are constantly learning and improving their design to achieve the best quality filament possible. 

Proto-Pasta’s production line consists of 4 stations, each with the ability to produce 1.75 and 2.85 filament sizes. Chris and Jarek did all the hard work of cranking out our filament while we eagerly watched them work. All of the Proto-Pasta computer software is developed in-house and continues to be a work in progress as they refine their practices and grow to meet demand.

Proto-Pasta grinds and produces all of their bases in-house, using a completely dry process, which gives them better quality control and more consistent printing. They create their materials in bulk and splice them out into “recipes” for creating different effects.The materials look like plastic pellets.  The pellets are measured and weighed to the recipe specifications, then combined. The dry pellets are then dropped into a hopper, which feeds them through a hot end and extruder into a trough, which cools the liquid plastic to create the long rope to be spooled.


 Having re-spooled filament by hand, I am very jealous of their filament spooler setup!

At this workshop, we worked with Alex, a 3D printer innovator. Using his expertise, we experimented with creating unique color and base combinations. All attendees were able to make 2 1-kg spools of filament and each spool was unique. Alex even ran a few spools for participants looking to achieve a very custom color. Proto-Pasta then saves the recipes so if any of the attendees would like to re-order their spool color, they have it on-hand. 
 
I already knew from my own experience that how a filament reacts during the 3D printing process can vary widely within not just types of filament, but also within the same type, color, brand, environment and printer. I learned at this workshop that the base used within the filament (even by the same brand and with the same color) can also impact printing outcomes. Just within the HTPLA line at Proto-Pasta, they use 4 separate bases to achieve the desired print effect. All of the components affect printing outcomes.

I cannot wait for our 2nd printer to return to us from repairs at Lulzbot to use our glittery filament! After speaking with Alex and learning more about the filament-creation process, I am now working with Proto-Pasta to design some metal filament printing workshops. Due to the public demand on our main 3D printer, we’ll need to wait to expand our printing opportunities until the 2nd printer returns to the branch. Through the library’s 3D printing certification for the public, I have connected with a community member and volunteer for a high school robotics team. The team is interested in printing custom parts with carbon fiber filament, and I was able to connect her with Proto-Pasta for a community partnership.

Filament #1: Green Glitter Goodness


Filament #2: Purplesaurus Rex

October 2018 Experiential Learning Roundup!

Programming:

Make a Better World was mentioned as part of the Ingram’s “Two Librarians and a Microphone” podcast.  The Hyper-Localism episode (S05:E04) specifically talked about our compassionate making projects to help others in the community.

VA held 2 programs during in-service days on Friday, 10/12 and Friday, 10/19. Both were well-attended. On 10/12 we hosted Cardboard Challenge where we assembled a geodesic dome, bowling pins and built with cardboard boxes. SLAs and I partnered to host a cardboard-themed Funtastic to roll into when our program wound down. We utilized the same partnership for the 10/19 Spy Camp. We are testing out less formal, more pop-up-type programs where we host programs out on the floor, rather than in a meeting room.

SLA continues to work with volunteer facilitator on Girls Who Code. I led the workshop on 10/24 and worked with the girls on building chatbots with Python. It is always fun to see the girls work together and problem-solve to meet a goal. Girls Who Code is on break for 10/31 and will return 11/7.

Sewing has been our most successful Maker Monday program. SLAs will continue working on sewing workshops in November and December. Green screen and Cricut will be utilized in different ways moving forward.

PSA volunteered to assist during Music & Movement. She is a great fit for this program!

SLA led the monthly Intro to 3D Design and SLA led the 3D Printing Open Lab.  We have successfully moved one of our 3D printers to the public floor. The hope is that the equipment will be better utilized by our certified users. We currently only have one 3D printer as our 2nd 3D printer is still in IT for repairs.

I am working with Youth Librarians to offload some of the ongoing Youth Services projects to the new supervisors.

Community Connections
SLA and I hosted a Community Conversation as a joint partnership with Humanities Oregon and Humanities Washington.We had a dozen participants, most of whom are regular library users. Kelly McElroy was an excellent facilitator of the discussion and several of our regular patrons, who didn’t know each other, got to connect and discuss their different opinions in a productive manner. Several attendees lingered after the program to continue to discussing content and indicated they are interested in more opportunities for community conversations. 

We have tentatively booked the Columbia Room in March for the 2019 Repair Cafe. I am pleased to report that this project (now going on its 3rd year) has spread to Cascade Park and will also include Three Creeks in 2019.

Program Services asked me to assist with a homeschool outreach event in Woodland. I worked with 44 eager homeschoolers and their parents to experiment with circuits and Makey Makey. My entire write-up is here. WD has asked me to continue partnering with Woodland to host programs the last Thursday each month beginning January 2019.

Professional Development:
I submitted 2 proposals for the 2019 OLA/WLA Conference in April. A ½-day pre-conference session on coding tools for librarians teaching coding and a conference workshop in partnership with Multnomah Library on making and failing.

I submitted my chapters for the ALA publication 50 Coding Projects for Libraries.