Jessica Lamarre is a librarian and makerspace coordinator at the Duxbury Free Library in Plymouth County, Massachusetts.
In this article, she reflects on her experience using 3D printers as powerful educational tools in her local community.
Imagine you're eight years old, and I tell you that with a little patience, you can make anything you want with a 3D printer.
What possibilities could be in store? What could you make?
We initially thought 3D printing would be a service at our library, just like providing Wi-Fi or inkjet printing.
Our original makerspace initiative goal was "to provide a space where people can collaborate, innovate, and create using resources, tools, and collections provided by the library. People could play, tinker, or pursue their personal or professional goals.”
After purchasing an Ultimaker 2 with donations, we planned to introduce monthly Tinkercad classes each year, providing focused jump-start learning, allowing patrons to progress at their own pace.
One library family member not only won first place in their 5th-grade science fair by presenting a project on 3D printing with the Ultimaker 2, but also co-taught an introduction to Tinkercad class for his Boy Scout Troop.
This further inspired a parent to request a 3D printing jewelry class for the Girl Scouts. Now, two years later in our 3D printing journey, patrons still want a regular class structure to learn, be inspired, and have print help available.
Every month, I still conduct Introduction to Tinkercad classes and have expanded to popular trends like Halloween-inspired printing, draw-to-print classes, and fidget spinners for repeat students.
Our teen librarian spent a summer creating an Arduino interactive display wall with a resident maker. The teens programmed 3D designs with moving interactive printed parts. What a masterpiece!
What I learned from this experience is that a 3D printer is not something you can just buy and say: "Hey, look what we have! Go print now!"
---It re-cultivates our brains as consumers. Librarians need to provide traditional support to encourage everyone to participate in this powerful technology.
I never considered myself a "scientist" or "engineer," these were subjects I was terrible at in school – I got a 5 on my AP Chemistry exam and thought my struggles with science would end after high school.
The 3D printer provided an inspiring medium to learn skills I never imagined. I used 3D printing to give myself a pair of beautifully hand-knitted socks, and to print an air conditioning replacement knob for a staff member's mother. I also made my own custom earrings and gave them to friends as gifts. I am also very keen on printing prosthetics for future volunteer projects.
My point is that anyone can do this---we just need to overcome the fear of failure and embrace new technology. Before the 3D printer, I had never disassembled a machine, and once I put it back together, it felt great, and it actually worked!
Here are some tips we learned:
1. Find someone who can easily disassemble the 3D printer. This could be a few key staff members or people within the community. The Ultimaker is easy to disassemble, but the first few times can be intimidating. You might think, "Where did that screw go?!" 3D printers require routine maintenance just like any other equipment, so make sure you lubricate them and follow the instructions in the manual. One staff member can be a key person, but if 3D printing really takes off, more trained staff will be needed to use Cura to prepare objects for printing.
2. Make sure you have examples of simple objects for students to print in introductory courses. Sometimes, children spend a lot of time trying to think about what to print.
We used to ask everyone to make keychains for their first class. We also expanded to making simple earrings or other jewelry.
If students have other ideas, I won't stop them, because most of our printer classes are very strict. As I write this, I'm printing a trophy from a beginner's class (eight hours to print!). We have an 8-year-old student in our class, and each student usually stays for about an hour, unsupervised by parents. If younger siblings at home want to try it, I encourage families to stay.
3. Find a prominent (ideally well-ventilated) place for your printer. It shouldn't be hidden in a back room: people are seeing 3D printers for the first time, and right upfront, they might not know the library has a 3D printer, can easily use it, or feel excited. This is a great way for staff to buy in, as all front desk staff should be able to explain how the printer works.
The first time I thought, "Hey, I can 3D print that..." when I was at a store or planning a library project, I spent a lot of time thinking about where to place the printer. Our customers feel the same way. I don't think 3D printing has fully gone "mainstream" yet.
4. Consider how 3D printer staff will be used so they can "learn with purpose." We've already made library signage for our operations, such as aisle numbers, staff-selected bookmarks, and Lego medals for Lego competitions.
We've fixed shelves, printed customized badges for fan events like Pokémon, and Lego heads when classes are cancelled!
There's unlimited room for development, we just need to change our mindset. Last night, I was in a restaurant and noticed our table was severely wobbly. As I was about to put a napkin underneath, I noticed a small square piece of plastic had come off one of the table legs. I thought I could easily redesign something and print it out to fix the problem by attaching it to the table leg.
5. Keep up to date with Tinkercad. I taught myself through a few beginner tutorials on the website, which was enough to start teaching beginner classes, but there's always something new to learn. I was so upset to find out about the Tinkertips alignment tool's short video on YouTube just last week!
6. Separate keyboard shortcuts are worth printing out.
7. Type D to drop. This will save you a lot of time, as students won't design everything on the workplane to be at 0mm!
In summary, social scientist Dr. Brene Brown says: "We are wired for story. When we deny people their stories, we deny them their humanity.”
Now, imagine, create and inspire!
2015 Arduino Garden Wall from Duxbury Free Library on Vimeo.
You can find more information about 3D printed signs for the library here.Our flickr page allows you to see many of the 3D projects mentioned above.
My blog also chronicles our 3D printing adventures and other Makerspace activities.
Original Text: https://ultimaker.com/en/blog/50711-library-stories-a-librarians-journey-of-going-from-zero-to-maker