8 unexpected places to buy 3D printers under $1,000

Ever cruise around your favorite store online and just happen to find a product you are surprised they sold? Well that happened to me today with 3D printers. I was surprised to find that Michael's Arts and Crafts sold 3D printers. Here are 8 mainstream stores I was surprised to find sold printers for under $1,000. Now don't get me wrong, there are several sites online that sell 3D printers and I am not saying these are the best or the worst printers or prices out there. I was just surprised that these stores sold them. Click the store to be taken to the site.

       Target

       Walmart

       Home Depot 

       Office Depot  

       Staples  

       Best Buy 

       Frys

                                                                         Michael's

Twitter #GirlsinSTEM

I am still learning the ropes of Twitter but apparently I must have done something right because one of my Tweets landed me on the official Girl Scout page. One of the 3D printing programs I did with a brownie and daisy troop was retweeted by Girl Scouts. A small accomplishment to some, but for me, I'm super excited! Let me have this moment of shear bliss. Now, back to life off social media.

Cube 3D Printer Discontinued

Most of you, if you follow along, know that I received a Cube 3D printer last Spring from 3D Systems as a means to teach students, especially young girls, about 3D printing and other engineering tasks. Well, I was sad to learn yesterday that the Cube is being discontinued because it is not profitable for the company. They are hoping to sell more of their top of the line model, the Cube Pro, which they are hoping can be a sufficient educational as well as professional model. However, those cost $2979 with tax and shipping. The Cube cost about a third that, but luckily mine was free. Safe to say, I will not be able to sway the adults I typically have attend my free programs to buy a Cube Pro. Nor will I be able to rush out and purchase one myself. I am going to keep the Cube that I have and use the remaining material coils I purchased before Christmas for as long as I can.  I hope to be able to raise enough money to buy as many material coils as I can so I can continue to put on my free 3D printing programs to small, rural communities across the country.

A small donation of $2 can ensure that a young girl or boy receives a wearable take home 3D printed item to show their friends, family, and community. If you would like to make a monetary donation to ensure the sustainability of my free 3D printing programs, you can do so here: 

https://www.gofundme.com/engineer_females 


I will continue to hold free programs and post about the activities and results as long as I have printing materials and funding. Thank you for your interest and support in my programs.

Public Library 3D Printing Program

Our county has 4 public libraries that share a new 3D printer. The librarian hosted a 3D printing program for kids and their parents at the smallest of the 4 libraries. I was asked to come along and demonstrate the similarities and differences between my Cube printer and her Lulzbot.



There were around 45 people who attended the program throughout the day. A surprising amount considering the last census said there were only 98 people in the town. The librarian used the Lulzbot 3D printer to print cookie cutters that each of the kids designed using Cookie Caster, a free online graphics design program.

It was fun to see the types of designs the kids made. The designs ranged from intricate dragons to simple triangles. I demonstrated my Cube printing technology along side the Lulzbot. Adults asked several questions and the kids were amazed at the quality of the prints and the details that could be obtained with each print. I have been asked to attend another 3D printing program with a second of the four libraries next month.

Cadet Girl Scouts and 3D printing

Another successful night of activities. The Cadet Girl Scouts are 6th and 7th graders. I was a little worried that older girl scouts would maybe be a little less enthusiastic about engineering, technology, and 3D printing but I was worried for nothing. The girls, leaders, and parents were all very interested and engaged in the activities.


To start the meeting, I posed the question "what is an engineer and what is a technologist?" The girls gave some amazing definitions of what tasks they thought engineers completed but there were no answers for a technologist. I ended up giving my favorite description of the two career paths and then followed up with some of the work I have completed in college and while in different summer jobs. I described some of the different engineering and technology disciplines as well. A few girls raised their hands saying they would like to be an engineer one day but were unsure as to which discipline yet. I talked briefly about the engineering and technology design process and discussed how we would be talking more about the importance of sketching as communication and prototyping...mainly with a 3D printer.

The first activity was for the girls to use the sketch books I gave them and draw what was being described to them. Three girls took turns describing a sketch of a robotic dog while the remaining girls tried to draw what they were hearing. After a few laughs of showing off the drawings, I emphasized the importance of sketching as a form of communication. Since designers, engineers, and technologists often work in teams, it is much easier for a designer of a product to draw the product and show his team to prototype it rather than try to solely verbally describe it.

Next, I showed the girls several samples of 3D printed objects that show 1) how the product is built up in layers, 2) how the product can be printed with interlocking pieces, 3) how the product can be flexible, 4) how the product can be printed in several separate pieces that can be connected later, and 5) how the printer can print several different textures. To visually demonstrate how a 3D printer works, I showed them the glue gun and talked about how it heated up the glue coil and ejected the melted material out the nozzle which then cooled in the desired shape. The girls made coil pots out of playdough to demonstrate how the material is built up in layers to form a shape. Lastly, I used a slinky to demonstrate how the computer software will take a graphic design and slice it into several layers in order to make the printing pattern.

I showed the girls how I designed the charms on cubify.com, sent the graphic to the cubify software app, and then we printed a charm. While the charm was printing, the girls drew out their desired layout of the beads for their necklaces and assembled the necklaces while periodically checking on the progress of the Cube 3D printer. The girls seemed to really love all the activities and were excited to show their necklaces with the 3D printed charm to their parents, teachers, and classmates.

After the meeting, the leader told me her daughter talked about the meeting all through dinner. The leader also received a couple phone calls from parents thanking the leader for the amazing program and explaining how much fun their daughters had. All in all I would say that it was another successful troop meeting.

 

 

Daisy Scouts learn a little about 3D printing and design

 Daisy Scouts are adorable. This troop of 16 girls was very excited to learn and participate in hands on activities. At this meeting in a rural mountain setting, I started off by telling the girls a bit about myself and why I was so interested in Engineering and Technology. I was sure to ask the girls what they thought engineering was and of course I got the standard "engineers drive a train" answers. I chose to focus on the fact that engineers and technologists are problem solvers who design, build, and test things that make life better or easier. Remembering that Daisy Scouts are in Kindergarten and First Grade I tried to keep it pretty basic but I did tell the girls that I loved being creative and enjoyed subjects like art and music that helped foster creativity and problem solving. So many students are told that they can only be engineers if they love math and science. Of course that is helpful but not necessary. I told the girls that I have designed things like cars, airplanes, rockets, bridges, websites, etc. The girls seemed amazed and said things like "wow," "I love being creative too," and best yet, "I want to be just like you when I grow up." After our introduction, I showed the girls items that the Cube had printed. I told them a bit about the printing material and how the printer works. In order for the girls to better understand how the printer builds up the material in layers to form an object, I had the girls used Play-doh to make coil pots. To show the girls how the printer melts the plastic, I used a glue gun.

I then showed the girls the necklace I had made. I wanted the girls to understand how important design and sketching can be to the result of a finished product so I showed the girls how I first drew the necklace on paper, second, made a 3D model in the computer, and last printed out the charm and assembled the necklace to look exactly like my sketch. I had pre-printed 16 charms and had made each girl a pocket sketch book that they could take with them and the girls used those to draw out their necklace designs and color them according to the color beads they wanted to use. After the sketches were done, the girls assembled the necklaces they designed. The day after the meeting, I was walking through town and I passed two girls on the sidewalk who waved and showed me that they were wearing their necklaces. I was so excited that the girls had had so much fun at the meeting.

Back to Libraries

   

I just got a phone call asking if I would put together an hour long presentation and demonstration using my Cube 3D printer. I will visit four separate local libraries and put on these presentations. As many of you know, I have this 3D printer for just this reason (free outreach programs). However, I do not like a straight up presentation. I am going to make these visits as fun interactive as possible. I totally believe in the power of learning through hands-on experiences and it can be challenging with only one computer, one piece of software, and one 3D printer but you better bet I will work my creative magic with this task.  More info to come on how this all gets planned out. Stay tuned.

High School STEM Curriculum Development

Call me crazy but now I am volunteering at a small local high school. I am working with three teachers from art, math, and science to help develop STEM curriculum. For art we will first be creating an architecture unit to meld together fine arts, technology, and engineering.  For science, I am helping develop several units for an integrated STEM course. For math, I am developing an entire robotics program from scratch. Oh the fun I get myself into for the shear enjoyment of bettering students. Updates to come.

Should I go into Tech Sales?

The Technology Leadership and Innovation academic recruiter at Purdue University asked me a bit about my 3D Printer.  Apparently she has been looking into getting one. She would like to be able to have a 3D printer to take with her to high schools while she encourages students and gets them interested in becoming technology majors.  She would also like it for the tech summer camps Purdue puts on for K-12 students. She however, was looking into a different brand. I told her about my Cube and how great it is. I told her about the ease of use, portability, printing speed, etc. Oh and of course she loved the fact that it could print from a memory stick, computer, or cell phone app. I took my Cube to Purdue and showed her how easy it is to use, how safe it is for kids, and how well it prints. Anyway, she is sold. When I left her, she was filling out a money request form to purchase one for the college. I am glad I am not the only one that loves my little Stella. That's right, Cube's have names too. You get to name them during setup.

Girl Scout Adventures in 3D Printing

Brownie and Daisy Scouts Learn about 3D Printing

The girl scout meeting went great! I have never heard so many ooh's and ah's! 

I had the girls start out by telling me what patch they are working on and how they are fulfilling the requirements of that patch. They are trying to earn their Inventor Badge by designing, building, and presenting a new invention. I then explained to the girls how they are doing the same thing real engineers and technologists do. 

I told the girls that one way that inventors design and create products is through the use of computer software and 3D printers.  I explained and demonstrated how a designer can use a computer aided design software to make a graphic of their product. Then the software takes the product design and slices it into layers that can be printed on the printer, one on top of each other, as an additive process. I gave the girls their necklaces so that they could see the layers of material within their charms. I explained how the the PLA material used to print their charms was recyclable as well as biodegradable. I used a glue gun to demonstrate how the 3D printer can take a solid plastic material and heat it through a nozzle to make a melted line of plastic that solidifies as it cools. 



I sent the girl scout charm digital file to the Cube printer and while the printer was heating, I answered questions from the girls. To my surprise, hands shot up in the air. Questions such as (a) how long does it take, (b) how big an object can it print, (c) what shapes can it print, and (d) how exactly does it work, were asked. Such great questions. 

After answering the final questions, the printer began printing. I immediately heard the best responses! Something to the effect of  "Oh wow, that's so cool" were heard for each girl. The charms take about 15 mins to print so after a few layers on the printer the girls went back to their tables to finish building their inventions out of their own materials from home. Periodically girls would run over to the Cube printer to watch the progress. Viewing was always accompanied by a "That's so cool!" At one point I got another question, "Does it carve out the letters now?" The answer to which was, no, it adds the letters. Again, an "Oh wow" moment.

I loved the energy and uninhibited interest these young girls had in the 3D printing process. The troop leader took our picture and is going to send it to the local news paper as well as the state girl scout website. 

Here are more pictures from the demonstration. 

      

          

3D Printed Girl Scout Charms

My first 3D printed items! Love the new Cube 3D printer. I will be teaching a local girl scout troop about design and prototyping. Each girl scout will get to keep a charm necklace. Super Excited!! Looking forward to purchasing some new colored material. Luckily the Cube came with neon green material so I was able to make the girl scout charms for their invention meeting.
If you would like to help fund my efforts of bringing engineering to young females, please visit http://www.gofundme.com/engineer_females

These were easy to design from the Cubify website using Crafternoons online design app with free downloads of whatever you design.

Free Cube 3D Printer and SolidWorks Software

Thank you to everyone who has supported this cause to raise money for educational materials to bring engineering to females. I have recently attended an International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) conference and talked with companies from across the country who support the cause of educating females through hands on activities in STEM. 

GREAT NEWS!! After networking and sharing my experiences with the free library programs I put on, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Cooperation donated 6 one-year copies of SOLIDWORKS Student Addition. That means, we now have 3D CAD Software to create computer models of participant designs. Then, I talked with Technology Education Concepts (tec) and 3DSYSTEMS who donated a new Cube 3D Printer by 3DSYSTEMS. We can now print new prototype designs. 

New SOLIDWORKS 3D design software

New Cube for 3D prototype printing

With this generosity we have the ability to bring real world design and prototyping capability to young female students. The donations collected from the gofundme site will continue to fund the printing coil materials as well as other necessities dependent on the activities created for the programs. 

The next program on the list is an innovation demonstration with a local girl scout troop. They have been inventing products the past month and will be bringing their inventions/ prototypes to the next meeting. There, I will demonstrate how designers and inventors can use 3D software and 3D printers to create new products. The girls will each take home a necklace with a small charm designed and printed with the help of the new SolidWorks software and Cube. The wearable necklace will be a symbol of not only being a girl scout but also a sign of being a female interested in STEM.

For more information on the Cube click http://cubify.com/cube/index
For more information on SolidWorks click https://www.solidworks.com

Women in History

For March I designed and implemented a Women in History program at the Hussey-Mayfield Library. The program was for 1st-3rd grade girls. I was asked to come up with a program that would teach girls about famous authors, scientists, and other influential women. The program lasted 45 mins. 

I choose to design the program around 3 women: 

1) Author/illustrator Beatrix Potter 
2) Astronaut Sally Ride 
3) Scientist Marie Curie

The activities included making:

1) pocket sketchbooks
2) hovercrafts
3) slime

Beatrix Potter: I discussed how she had spent most of her childhood in the upstairs of her parent's home with a large variety of pets. Beatrix began creating sketches of her pets when she was 8 years old. She went on to write an illustrated letter to her friend's son which included Peter Rabbit, a character she modeled after her own pet rabbit. Peter Rabbit became the world's first licensed character. The activity included making a pocket sketchbook for the girls to take home and color changing pencils donated by Purdue University's Technology Leadership & Innovation department. 

Sally Ride, I had contacted the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Educator Resource Center located in Huntsville, AL, and received NASA stickers, space posters, and curriculum books. During the program, we discussed how Sally Ride was the first female astronaut, her background, what life in space was like for her, and how teams of NASA astronauts are now very diverse. For the activity I had the girls build hovercrafts using old CDs, plastic tubes, and balloons. I had the girls predict what they thought would happen after blowing up the balloon and sticking it on the tube. After demonstrating the hovercraft, I explained the basic physics behind the hovercraft and we held hover craft races across the floor. The girls got to keep their hovercrafts and NASA stickers. 

Marie Curie: We talked about how Marie Curie was the first woman to win a noble prize and then went on the win a second noble prize. We talked about the importance of her research to medicine and technology. I discussed how Curie researched radioactive materials and how she used to chemically break down minerals into a sludge. From that sludge, she would find radioactive particles. For the activity, we made our own radioactive sludge. We used equal parts glue, water, and liquid starch to make a slime with a pinch of glitter for the radioactive particles.  The girls were able to take their slime home as well. 

Since this was held at a library, I used Girls research! : amazing tales of female scientists  by Jennifer Phillips as a visual aid. 

STEM + Art event

Working with the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Library, I created a STEM plus Art event. The event was teaching design concepts with an emphasis on Leonardo Da Vinci. The activity was for 5th-6th grade students and 45 minutes long. 

Visual Communication: I gave each student who participated a composition notebook to use as an engineer's notebook. I started off by demonstrating the importance of visual communication by having one student describe aloud the contents of a very detailed robot sketch. The other students were suppose to draw what they thought the robot looked like. In the end some of the students showed the group their sketches and we all had a few laughs because non were even close to the initial design. The students were then shown the robot after being manufactured and the students saw how similar it was to the original sketch thus learning the importance of visual communication during the design process. 

Engineering Notebooks: I then went on to explain the importance of engineering notebooks throughout the design and patenting  process. I tied this information with how Da Vinci used notebooks to document his observations, research, and designs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math disciplines.  We also discussed the difference between inventions and innovations. 

Design Task: The next activity was for the students to use their new engineer's notebooks to solve a real-world design challenge. I asked the students to raise their hands if they enjoyed riding the bus...no one raised their hands. Great, we had our problem and the challenge for the students was to design a new transportation system to get students to and from school. 

Students began using their notebooks to write down a problem statement, criteria, constraints, what they don't like about the bus system and what they would like in a new system. In teams in three or four, students worked together to sketch and prototype their designs. Prototypes were built out of recyclables such as egg cartons, tin cans, cardboard, and bottles that the library had in a storage closet. After completion of the activity, each team presented their design to the group.  

Since this was a library program, I used Leonardo da Vinci : artist, inventor, and scientist of the renaissance by Francesca Romei as a reference and visual aid. 

Introduction

My name is Rachel. I am a graduate student in Engineering and Technology Education. I am passionate about encouraging young girls to pursue interests in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). I believe one way to encourage interest in STEM, is to expose young girls to hands-on activities. These activities create a positive experience for girls to get them motivated about design and creativity.

I have been volunteering at rural and suburban libraries planning and teaching small, after school, hands-on programs that are free to local grade school students.  These programs foster creative problem solving by allowing children the opportunity to learn and apply engineering and technology concepts that they may not normally be exposed to at home or at school. This blog will highlight activities that I design and implement. 

I have been putting the programs and activities together with my own money but that limits the amount of materials and activities these students can participate in. I have started a gofundme account to help with the monetary demands. Please help me create the best possible experience for the children in my after school library programs. My hope is travel to several libraries across the state and soon, other states.
http://www.gofundme.com/engineer_females