12/18/2022
The 3d printer is on a shelf that can easily be reached by our youngest students, or hit by the stray pillow during rambunctious play. It is tempting to move it to some closet or less trafficked space, but then it couldn't inspire those same young minds to wonder how they can get their ideas to come out of the machine. The purpose of a curated space is to inspire the people in it to try new (and sometimes daunting) things. Instead of hiding the 3d printer, we are talking with the students about ways that we could keep it where it is and protect it. So far the suggestions include a clear box, a signup sheet where people take turns protecting it when it is printing, a dog that barks at you when you get to close, making a movie about how important it is to let the printer finish it's work, a moat that is filled with snapping turtles when there is a print happening, a chicken wire fence "like we use to keep foxes and coyotes out of the chicken coop", and "just print at night when there are only ghosts in the building." (these are wheel adapters for the robots we are delivering to the Chabot Space and Science Center for a new exhibit later this week).
