jmanton

I just got back from volunteering at my local FabLab, hosting a group from the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club. I've helped out with the last couple of sessions, and I've learned a lot. This is the first group we've taken through the FabLab, and we are figuring things out like the right size for a class, the types of things that the kids can do on their own, vs. needing one-on-one help, etc.

One of the neat things I've seen is that as the kids are finishing up with their "main" project (a robot kit that they assembled and decorated with tools from the lab), they are starting to get ideas about projects they'd like to pursue on their own.

Today, we were doing some basic 2D sign printing on the laser cutter. Basic stuff - download an image off the web, put a border around it that is cut out, add some text, and send it to the Epilog. One of the kids decided he wants to go further than that. He wants to build a cardboard model of the coliseum in Rome. We started with cardboard and some scissors, and he made a prototype, by stacking layers of cardboard on top of each other. When he had a rough idea of how to proceed, we went to the computer. We found a nice overhead picture of the coliseum that allowed him to see what the contours were on the inside, and the shape of the upper level that is only half there. We didn't finish today, but he is really excited to finish next week.