Big Talk From Small Libraries 2015 - If They Build It They Will Keep Coming Back

If You Build It, They Will Keep Coming BackA Teen Tech Week Grant, a 3D Printer Kit, Pi-Einstein Day, & A Year of Programming

A Quick Introduction To The Craig Public Library

› 1,200 – Service Area Population with 3,780 Active Patrons

› 1.5 Paid Staff and 14 Volunteers

› 1,600 square feet (1,200 square feet of public space)

› Prince of Wales Island is 750 air miles from Seattle and 1,000 air miles from Anchorage

› Travel to a Walmart is an 8-hour ordeal – 6 hours round trip on a ferry and an hour of driving each way

Teen Tech Week 2014The Craig Public Library received a

YALSA/Best Buy Teen Tech Week Grant in 2014. With this grant and money we

obtained through fundraising, we purchased an Airwolf 3D Printer Kit with the goal of assembling it over Teen Tech Week and demonstrating it during our community’s annual Pi-Einstein Day

Celebration.

No Pressure…..

Fueled by Pizza, Teens met at the library with several adult volunteers.

The build was on!

Over The Next Few Days, we saw a lot of this ->

Keep Calm and Build On…..?

Two days in, we hit a snag and it looked like the build wouldn’t finish by Pi-Einstein Day (March 14th – 3.14, which is also Albert Einstein’s Birthday).

A bearing rod began shedding bearings! A call to Airwolfaccomplished the impossible in Rural Alaska – they had replacement parts to us in fewer than 48 hours!

Back on Track!(We just might pull this off…!)

Pi-Einstein Day Arrived!

With 70 people in the library enjoying pizza (pie), pie (pie), and waiting for the science (pi) part of the celebration, the 3D printer looked ready to go!

It was standing room-only for the demonstration. Our Local NPR had just run a story about 3D Printed prostheses earlier that morning.

Success!

Our first print was a customized circle from Thingiverse.

http://youtu.be/z_us98PIzt4

This is a link to the raw video YouTube of our demonstration. We did not pre-check anything. It was truly an “if this works, that’ll be GREAT!” kind of moment. I wanted the kids’ and teens’ reactions. It was absolutely priceless!

** Early success with 3D Printers, because they can be frustrating to work with in the beginning, is essential to keep kids and teens coming back. A 3D Printing enthusiast from Canada suggested Thingiverse (www.thingiverse.com) as a good site to find customizable .stlfiles. Also note, we couldn’t print the symbol for Pi because of a trademark dispute**

Now What….?

After the heady success of the customized Thingiverse disk, the teens tried their hand at customizing other things. We still didn’t have it quite figured out, but they kept coming back because getting it “right” was half the fun!

Learning to tweak designs in Thingiverse and then using Matter Hacker to figure out how commands were processed to the printer were the next steps.

LEAPS AND BOUNDS

Some of our younger patrons continue to use programs like Thingiverse and Cookie Caster to create their own 3D creations.

This Pikachu Cookie Cutter was designed and printed by one of our young patrons using Cookie Caster.

http://www.cookiecaster.com/

He and his mom used it to make Pokemon Pizzas.

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT!

As kids and teens figured out they needed to learn programs like SketchUp or 123Design, interest moved from the printer itself to the programs. They quickly discovered that they didn’t have to just customize an .stl file that someone else created. They could create their own!

We watched their creations literally SOAR!

The First 3D Printer Available for Patron Use in Alaska!

The Teens did it! They came in on time and right on budget!

We had help along the way, what with Tweet Chatting with Airwolf and documenting our progress via Social Media all along the way. Facebook 3D Printing enthusiasts from Canada also pitched in with good advice.

Budget:Airwolf 3D Printer Kit (w/ABS) $1,299Pizza $ 125Pi-Einstein Day Celebration $ 250

Experience, Buzz Created, Confidence Built, and Mustache Rings Printed: Priceless

Projects Since the 3D Printer

Sally Ride EarthKAMAboard the International Space Station

LEGO MindstormsRobotics

LEGO Rocket Designs to Go To Mars to celebrate ORION EFT-1

MinecraftEDU – the kids are hacking and being the game changers and creators

Next Up…..

A Tsunami Debris & Volunteer Beach Clean Up Effort Documentary soon to be available on YouTube

A virtual visit to El Capitan Cave on Prince of Wales Island available via the Center for Interactive and Collaborative Learning (in about a year)!

Contact Information

Amy K. Marshall

(907) 826-3281

director@craigpubliclibrary.org

@CraigAKLibrary

@jitterymoose (personal Twitter)

www.craigpubliclibrary.org

https://www.facebook.com/TheCraigPublicLibrary

https://www.pinterest.com/craigaklibrary/

Craig Public Library504 Third StreetPO BOX 769Craig, AK 99921