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By Laura Drinan
Hometown Weekly Reporter
When the Medfield Public Library opened their STEAM Room in the fall of 2017, they also opened a door of unlimited possibilities for classes and educational opportunities. To utilize the STEAM Room’s high-performance 3D printer, the library hosted a 3D design workshop for students.
Five children joined circulation supervisor Matt Costanza in the meeting room for the hour-long workshop as they worked in Tinkercad, a free and simplified online CAD program, to create keychains.
With the room’s projector, Matt used one of the library’s laptops to demonstrate the basics of manipulating shapes on the program’s work plane. With Matt’s guidance and detailed instructions on a print out, the young designers learned to model small bricks with a text design in the middle.
While those with Tinkercad experience chose to make more complicated keychains, like giving it a studded appearance and adding a keychain loop at the end, others spent the time becoming comfortable with the program and perfecting their design.
The library has hosted similar events before, including ones for adults to make holiday ornaments, to inspire patrons to explore more STEAM-related programs and to get more involved at the library.
The Friends of the Medfield Public Library made a majority of the STEAM Room possible, and their donation of the two Lulzbot 3D printers allow the workshop participants to see their creations come to life.
The Friends also provide library patrons with the library’s free WiFi, museum passes, self-checkout stations, and many programs available to all members of the community. In order to continue to fund programs and materials for the library, the non-profit organization relies on donations from community members who want to see the library thrive in 2018.
When the participants finished their keychains, several decided to experiment more with the versatile program and designed their own magnets and fidget spinners. The pre-made shapes and designs readily available to them also inspired the children to continue their work in Tinkercad.
Although the students were not able to take home their 3D printed designs the same day, they would be eagerly awaiting to return to the library to see their printed creations and participate in more activities.
