Tag Archives: public library

Promoting STEM Education at the Library

A few weeks ago, the library consulted me about teaching programming to kids. The Grand Avenue library is already using the CS First With Google and the West Orange library wants to start something similar and asked because of the previous robotics classes I’ve taught for them. While they could also try Google’s CS First, why not experiment with something else? Something a bit more hands on!

The library have always said they wanted to loan out Arduinos but it just can’t happen because of how much other stuff you must include with it before it becomes useful. It is impractical to expect the librarians to count wires and LEDs when an Arduino is loaned out.

So my targets were: low part count, easy to loan and return, full curriculum written.

Continue reading →

Teaching a Robotics Class

3 Replies

I spend my Saturdays volunteering at a public library makerspace, the South San Francisco Public Library. I help people operate a few 3D printers, a CNC mill, vinyl cutter, etc. While preparing for my annual RoboGames entry, I thought it’d be cool to teach the library’s patrons about robotics.

I designed a robot kit, partly 3D printed, with electronics that has to be soldered, and running with an Arduino Nano. The three classes are for 3D CAD modelling, soldering, and programming.

The robots are designed to be cheap enough for the library to actually give away. All of my courseware is open source, hosted on GitHub. A lot of the tools and parts were donated by people I know in my professional circles.

Here’s a link to the class content: click here

This blog post is about what I observed, what I did right, what I did wrong.

Continue reading →

Switching the Public Library 3D Printers to Use Cartridges

1 Reply

Ha, that title makes me sound so evil.

See… this library actually leaves their 3D printers unsupervised, and the patrons use them how they please. I love it, getting people exposed to the latest tech is our goal. But this means that people do not realize how to properly remove filament from the printers, leading to tangles and knots in the filament spools. A single mistake could essentially render a $20 spool useless, it becomes a time bomb for printer jams, making people unhappy.

No amount of posters or instructions booklets could embed the same kind of discipline that a 3D printer owner has regarding filament treatment. Just a simple mistake of letting the filament go could cause a knot in the spool.

My solution… make them use cartridges that make it hard to make mistakes. These cartridges must be cheap, fast to make, easy to understand, reusable, and do not require modifying the printer to use. Don’t worry, there’s no DRM bull**** and they are adjustable to fit any standard spools. If my idea causes more problems than it solves, simply clip all the zip ties and go back to status-quo.

Continue reading →