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 a powerful educational tool in her local community.
Imagine you’re eight years old, and I tell you that you can make anything you want with a 3D printer, as long as you have a little patience.
What possibilities could there be?What would you make?
Initially, we thought 3D printing would be a service in our library, just like we offer Wi-Fi or inkjet printing.
Our original makerspace initiative goal was to "provide a space where people can collaborate, innovate, and create using resources and tools 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, offering focused learning jumps so that patrons
could progress at their own pace in areas they wanted to strengthen.One library family member not only won first place in their 5th-grade science fair by presenting a 3D printing project with the Ultimaker 2, but also co-taught an introduction to Tinkercad class for his Boy Scout Troop.
This inspired a parent to request a 3D printing jewelry class for the Girl Scouts.Now, two years into our 3D printing journey, patrons still want a
regular class structure to learn, be inspired, and have printing assistance available.
Every month, I still conduct Tinkercad classes for repeat students, and have expanded to popular trends like Halloween-inspired printing, draw-to-print classes,
and fidget spinners.
Our teen librarian spent a summer creating an Arduino interactive display wall with a resident maker. The 3D designs and moving
interactive printed parts were programmed by teens. Truly a masterpiece!
What I learned from this experience is that a 3D printer isn't something you can just buy and say, "Hey, look what we have! Go print now!"
---It re-educates 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 struggled with in school – I got a 5 on my AP Chemistry exam
and thought my days of struggling with science would end after high school.
3D printers provide an inspiring medium to learn skills I never imagined. I used 3D printing to give myself a pair of beautifully hand-knitted socks
and 3D printed replacement knobs for the air conditioner 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 to
print 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 technologies. I hadn't disassembled a
machine before the 3D printer, and once I put it back together, it felt great, and it actually worked!
Here are some tips we've learned:
1. Find someone who can easily disassemble the 3D printer. This could be a few key staff members or people within the community. An Ultimaker is easy to disassemble, but
the firstfew times can still be intimidating. You might think, "Where did that screw go?!" 3D printers require routine maintenance like other equipment, so
make sureyou lubricate and follow the instructions in the manual. One staff member can be key, but if 3D printing really takes off, then
moretrained 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 classes. Sometimes, kids spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to print.
We used to ask everyone to make a keychain in their first class. We also expanded to making simple earrings or other jewelry.
If students have other ideas, I don't stop them, because most of our printer classes are very strict. As I write this, I am
printing a trophy from a beginner's class (takes eight hours to print!). We have students as young as 8 in our class, and each student typically stays for about
an extrahour, without parental supervision. If younger siblings want to try, I encourage the family to stay.
3. Find a prominent place to put your printer (ideally with good ventilation). It can't be hidden in the back room: many people have never seen a 3D printer before,
and if it's right out front, they might not know the library has a 3D printer, can easily use it, or feel excited. This is a good way to get 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..." was when I was in a store or planning a library program. A lot of time was spent thinking about where to put
the printer. This is the same thought process our patrons have. I don't think 3D printing has fully gone "mainstream" yet.
4. Consider 3D printer usage for staff so they can "learn with purpose." We've made library signage for our operations, such as aisle numbers, staff-selected bookmarks, and Lego medals for Lego competitions.
We've fixed shelves, and printed custom badges for fan events like Pokémon and Lego heads for when classes stop!
There is unlimited room for development, we just need to change our mindset. Last night I was at a restaurant and noticed our table had a severe wobble. When I was about to
put a napkin under it, I noticed a small square of plastic had broken off one of the table legs. I thought it would be easy to redesign something and
print it out, fixing it to the table leg to solve the problem.
5. Stay 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
somethingnew to learn. I was so upset to discover a short video about Tinkertips alignment tools on YouTube only last week!
6. Separate keyboard shortcuts are worth printing out.
7. Press D to drop. This will save you a lot of time, as students don't always design everything on the workplane at 0mm!
In conclusion, social scientist Dr. Bryan Brown says, "We are natural makers. We move what we learn in our minds to our hearts through our hands."
Now, imagine, create, and inspire!
2015 Arduino Garden Wall from Duxbury Free Library on Vimeo.
You can find more information about the library's 3D printing signs here.OurFlickr page shows many of the 3D projects mentioned above.
My blog also chronicles our 3D printing adventures and other Makerspace activities.
Original article:https://ultimaker.com/en/blog/50711-library-stories-a-librarians-journey-of-going-from-zero-to-maker