Tuesday, 5 April 2016

When Makerspace Projects Come to Fruition

I love stories of patrons or staff who use our equipment to make something truly creative and original. We had two of those instances this week:

Our first comes from our talented staff member, Karen, who runs a monthly knitting night at the library. She draws a big crowd as individuals work on solo projects, share their skills and troubleshoot with each other.  These knitting nights have brought out some spinners and loom enthusiasts that have shared their talent as well. Using these new skills, Karen made her own sweater.  It doesn't stop there though.

Over the past year we have increased our collection of unusual items for circulation to include a polymer clay kit which Karen used to make her own designer button for her creation. I told her she could have her own couture business! Read more about this and other projects on her knitting blog. 


The second project came from a pair of siblings who won 1st place in the Pembroke Science Fair with the 3D printing help from yours truly.  It started last Christmas while I was hosting 3D printed ornament classes. My goal was, after these classes, kids would come in on their own to 3D print. Well Kevin, one of my ornament students, did. He went on to make a model of the Empire State Building using tinkercad for a school project which drew lots of attention at school. For his science fair project, he presented on 3D printing and education. His goal was to teach his 5 year old brother how to make a keychain in tinkercad. It was a resounding success! Kevin also practiced the draw to 3D print method with the lighting bolts as well as learning about supports, printing time, and structural techniques by making a penguin and a doll all using our Ultimaker 2 Extended printer. I haven't taught a tinkercad class with as young as 5 but it proved with this next generation it is possible. I was certainly a proud librarian. It just reiterates that fact that libraries have a true impact in the community to help the curious pursue life long learning.


 



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