Making Christmas: 3D Printing and Crocheting Ornaments

Every year, we have a Christmas tree in the Library and Learning Commons. In honor of our Maker Lab, we decided to offer students the opportunity to make ornaments.  The selling point was that right before Christmas break, students could then take the ornaments home to keep. 

Mrs. Stanton teaching students.

 















 Mrs. Stanton offered to teach students how to crochet star ornaments and make chains.  Students then hung them up on the tree.  It proved to be very popular, with students coming at lunch and after school to work on the chain or make ornaments. 

 
Due to finals coming up and the requirement that students actually design their own ornaments, there weren't as many 3D printed ornaments. 

Student designed and printed.

 We also made several examples from Thingiverse.

On Thingiverse

On Thingiverse

 And there were a few staff examples designed in Tinkercad:

As more students become familiar with 3D designing from the instruction we provide in class, we hope there will be more student examples to share.

Happy Making and Happy Holidays!

Hour of Code

On Friday, we celebrated Computer Science Education Week by undertaking an Hour of Code in the Library and Learning Commons. The purpose of an Hour of Code is to demystify computer science and help students experience the fun, challenge, and satisfaction that comes with learning how to code. Anyone can learn how to code and as of this blog post, 75,920,797 people have done the Hour of Code according to code.org!

Many different programs offer an Hour of Code including but not limited to code.org, Kahn Academy, Tynker, and Scratch. These programs teach coding by playing; participants use logic to solve puzzles and/or make interactive games run. The games and puzzles students program to run look similar to the apps you play on your phone. 

As you solve the puzzles, you are writing lines of code. The games and puzzles keep you so engaged that you forget you are learning a really important skill while playing. You might write 90 lines of code in one hour! Some of the Hour of Code programs give you a certificate after completing an Hour of Code.

To introduce the Hour of Code at MCHS, Christopher Hitchcock ‘16 and Michelle Vasquez-Aleman ‘15 spoke about why coding is important to them. Christopher mentioned how it is a skill used in so many different fields and Michelle shared how coding can be used to create art and she gave the example of Pixar Studios.

Participating students then immediately got to work with the Hour of Code, first by selecting an Hour of Code program on the MCHS Maker Lab website.

There are 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week, 672 hours in a month, 8,064 hours in a year. Why not use one of these hours to learn a skill that will set you apart in the years to come? Start with an Hour of Code! Visit the MCHS Maker Lab’s Hour of Code page to learn more.

#MarinersAre Makers: MCHS Maker Lab during Open House

As part of the digital billboard advertising our school

During Open House in previous years, the Library and Learning Commons has served as the venue for the Choral and Band performances, as well as speeches by our Principal and President.  But this year, because the Maker Lab has been featured prominently in our 50th Anniversary marketing and admissions efforts (including billboards, BART ads, and movie theater ads), the admissions team wanted to include a demo of all of our Maker Lab equipment.

Because the band needed to be up in our Maker Lab to perform, we ended up moving most of our equipment downstairs, including the 3D printers, Arduinos, Makey Makeys, LilyPads, LEGOS, Strawbees, Raspberry Pi, and Snap Circuits.

We even brought Sparki back out to highlight his ability to follow a black line (through programming the Arduino).

Our Raspberry Pi was running Raspbian, and we had Scratch and Minecraft open.  We felt were some of the more well-known and user-friendly of all the applications.

 We had Connie, our resident-crochet expert and LLC team member, set up all the yarn and crochet hooks to show that making isn't always about gadgets.  

We also thought Strawbees and LEGOs would be fun for kids to play with.  The Makey Makeys were all set up and we even got bananas (no pictures unfortunately). 

 Our attempt to follow the Makey Makey Floor Piano instructions we found in a blog did not work out as planned, but was left up to show the progress of making.  Hitting the foam pads did not always make the keys play, so we up to fix it and revamp it in time for our MCHS Maker Faire next year. 

 The 3D printers were placed prominently, and as expected were the reason a lot of parents and students wanted to see the maker lab.  We demoed a long print on the one in the lab area, and then did a shorter 30 minute print of the Maker Faire robot
 during our presentation.  

We placed signs encouraging parents and students to "play," "make," "build," and "explore" everything.  We really wanted them to feel comfortable touching and using our equipment right then and there.
 
The highlight of the presentation was our Maker Lab student representatives and speakers Kadija and Charul, who talked about what the Maker Lab has meant to them with such eloquence that parents came up asking about them after the presentation was done.  Their presence and knowledge was invaluable to our efforts to promote the Maker Lab, and we are fortunate to have them.

Happy Making!

Teaching 3D Design and Printing

It was just a week after our new MakerBot Replicators arrived that teachers started bringing their classes in for 3D design instruction and printing projects.  In particular, our Theology Department has been quick to jump on board with this new technology and incorporate it into their classes.  

We decided to use Tinkercad, because it was the easiest application to use for those new to 3D design.  Over the summer, I tried out a variety of Autodesk applications, but found that while many offered more features than Tinkercad, they required a significant amount more time to learn how to use them well enough to make a final product.  In Tinkercad, you make your design using geometric shapes, lettering/numbers, and objects uploaded by other Tinkercad users.  It's easy to grab a shape, drag it on to the workplane, and adjust the size and position. 

Tinkercad

After a short intro showing them various features, students were encouraged to spend the time playing with it. 

Tinkercad instruction

The ease of use and colorful features encouraged them to be creative, and most of the students seemed to enjoy designing their objects.   The results were impressive:

Student designs

After seeing the success of the Theology classes, other teachers are starting to incorporate the 3D printer into their class.  Students in Spanish were given the opportunity to 3D print their sugar skulls.  While most students downloaded a file off of Thingiverse, one actually designed hers in Tinkercad, shown here:

In our Chinese classes, students will be using Tinkercad to design their Chinese name, and then given the option to print them.

Sample to show students

Because we only have two printers, we have run into logistical issues meeting the demand to 3D print objects by faculty and students (not that it's a bad problem to have).   In order to meet due dates, we have teachers schedule students over a period of days ahead of time to print.  We also have given them strict guidelines related to the size of their objects due to the amount of time it takes to print.  All students and faculty must be certified before they can print their own objects, and it's especially helpful when teachers give us a class period to get kids certified.  We are definitely learning as we move forward with integrating 3D design/printing into individual classes.

Happy Making!

Spirit Week Maker Lab Competition

This week welcomed in a new addition to Spirit Week - the Spirit Week Maker Lab Competition! The focus was on Building Spirit and students could use anything in the Maker Lab to build the most creative and functional design representative of their class’ school spirit. The prize - 50 Spirit Week points to the winning class!

The lab area of the LLC transformed to accommodate each class’ work table and Maker Lab equipment was available for use on the center tables.

Captains for each class led the effort by encouraging participation, leading brainstorm sessions, and ensuring team members were aware of the design strategy day by day.

The final designs were innovative and clever. Here they are:

Class of 2017 - A circus complete with theme music played by a student using the Makey Makey, crocheted hearts, 3D designed and printed circus characters including an elephant and clown, a lego building, and a sewn pillow with "Cirque du Sophs" embroidered on the front. 

Class of 2016 - A video game programmed by students that begins on an airplane and then takes the player on a journey through each class year’s theme.

Class of 2015 - A twisting zombie robot programmed with the arduino, built using legos, and complete with red LED sewn-in eyes made possible by the lilipad.

 

 

Class of 2018 - a lego castle.

At 3pm on Thursday, the panel of judges (thank you Ms. Maniscalco, Mr. Shelley, Coach Greenbaum, and Mr. Tobler!!) listened to each class explain their design and afterwards selected the winner. 

And the winner was…. Class of 2017 followed by the classes of 2016, 2015 and 2018. Congratulations sophomores and great job to all participants!

Moving forward with 3D printing...

When we first looked into purchasing a 3D printer,  the price ($599) of the
Printrbot Simple Metal was really appealing.  With an initial Maker Lab budget of $2000, we could not afford the more pricier 3D printers.  However, upon receiving and using the Printrbot, it became clear it wasn't going to work for us.  It required too much set-up and calibration in order to use, and we were in constant contact with their tech support.

After the school year started, the Maker Lab received a lot of support from students, faculty, staff, and administration.  And when it became clear the Printrbot wasn't going to work out,  they awarded us student fundraiser money to purchase two MakerBot Replicators (5th generation) to further our Maker Lab plans.   As the person responsible for setting up, maintaining, and repairing the Printrbot over the last few months, no one was more happy than myself when our new 3D printers arrived.

Happy day!

When we had talked with the MakerBot salesman, I specifically asked how long it would take from unboxing to first print, and he said about 15 minutes.  Surprisingly, he was right!  Once you turn it on, it goes through steps to calibrate it, load the filament, and then do a test print.  It tells you exactly what to do step by step, and if you're a relative novice to 3D printing, you really appreciate it!

Some enthusiastic students watching the first print.

Although we haven't had the MakerBots that long, beyond the occasional filament jam, we have been pleased with our purchase.  The printers have been used constantly during the school day and even overnight, mostly for demoing purposes at this stage. We are working on our new certification process so students can start printing on their own (should be ready next week).  We printed some branding for the maker lab designed in Tinkercad:

 We also printed some items off of Thingiverse, including a filament spool holder, which was our first overnight print (took about 9 hours for each side) and a sleeping dog.

Filament spool holder

Sleeping dog

We have our first 3D Design instruction session over the next week with several Theology classes, who will be designing Holy Cross symbols and then printing them.  More on that to come...


Our MakerBots have increased interest in our Maker Lab.  However, we do want to make it clear, the Printrbot is not a bad 3D printer.   It's just more suited to someone that likes to tinker more with the mechanics and settings.   Our students/faculty/administration wanted a printer that just works with minimal effort and will allow students to meet assignment deadlines. Our experience so far with the MakerBot Replicator seems promising!

Happy Making!

New Projects in the Maker Lab

We love Make magazine's Weekend Projects!  So many great ideas to use up in the Maker Lab.  It always starts out with a particular need or problem.  For example, our Maker Lab is located on the second floor of the Library and Learning Commons and even with the windows, there is almost no air circulation.  Our budget allowed us to purchase one fan, but that doesn't make much of a difference.  We found the PC Box Fan project, which students will be undertaking. 

 

Fortunately, we had some of the parts already so we won't have to spend too much to make it.  Saves us the cost of purchasing another fan!

Freshman Ryan L.'s keen interest in the 3D printer, our soldering equipment, and our broken Nooks has led to several projects, including this Weekend Project: Mini Fume Extractor.  Having spent a lot of time soldering, he informed us we would need better ventilation for the equipment.  The Mini Fume Extractor costs about $10 to make and will help protect students from the fumes from soldering.  

He also is working with our broken Nooks.  Over the course of several years, a few of our Nooks have stopped functioning for various reasons: won't charge, . He is hoping to fix them, but intends to re-purpose them if not.

Taking the Nook apart.

We have several other projects in the works, such as the Makey Makey: Floor Piano for our upcoming Open House.  Pictures coming soon.

Happy Making!

Making isn't always about technology

There has been interest in some of the non-tech aspects of our Maker Lab.  We originally started providing felt and fabric just to go along with our LilyPads, but many students expressed an interest in just having access to materials for sewing, knitting, and crocheting.  We started to think about how we could incorporate more crafting materials up in the space.  One of our team members brought in yarn one day and taught us to crochet.

A teacher showing off his first attempt at crocheting

We found this pattern to crochet a guinea pig.  This was a first attempt:

Chocolate-colored guinea pig with button eyes

We then made one and sewed on the LED lights for eyes with the conductive thread.  Some of students and faculty say it is creepy-looking, blue LEDs seemed like a better choice than red ones.

Multi-colored gpig with blue LED light eyes

All of this was so we could have samples for students to see the various crafting opportunities we will now be offering.  Students will be able to checkout crochet hooks, knitting needles and other supplies, as well as yarn which they will be able to keep.  We are also planning on 3D printing some of these supplies from patterns on Thingiverse.

Happy Making!

Squishy Circuits

Ever since watching the following TED talk, I had been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to play with squishy circuits.

The squishy circuits kit comes by mail and includes instructions on how to make conductive playdough and insulating playdough along with LED lights, a motor, two sound components, and a battery pack.

The conductive playdough was easy to make and all ingredients are standard household items except maybe cream of tartar.

 

I decided not to make the insulating playdough this time. Once you mix the ingredients, you heat the mixture on the stove until it hardens.

You are now ready to begin making circuits!

As you can see below, I did not make the insulating playdough to put in between my two strips of dough so I needed to be sure they were not touching each other in order for my circuit to work. This is why the insulating playdough is helpful to have - you can put it between the two conductive pieces of dough and then you don't have to worry about the two strips of dough touching.

To begin your circuit, you connect one strip of dough to the battery pack by way of the wire with the positive charge (red) and you connect the other strip of dough to the battery pack by way of the wire with the negative charge (black). Then it's just a matter of connecting the components to the strips of dough making sure the negative and positives wires (or metal pins for the LEDs) go in the correct strip of dough (black to black and red to red or with LEDs - the longer metal pin represents the positive).

It was a great activity to become more familiar with how circuits work in a fun hands-on way. 

Here are more pictures of squishy circuits in use created by others: