Questar III’s George Washington School has ha
d a 3D printer in the library since the beginning of December. The unit is on loan from Questar III’s School Library Service until the end of the month, then it will be returned and sent elsewhere until June, when it will be back at George Washington.
Questar III has two 3D printers available to loan to schools. Jen Cannell, Director of Questar III’s School Library System, says the idea behind making the printers available to schools is to help teachers and administrators determine if the technology would enhance their curriculum. Since Questar III loans the printers to schools at no cost, it’s an efficient way to make the decision before spending the money to purchase a printer that might not be used enough to be worthwhile.
Christine Ki
ernan, a teacher at George Washington, uses the printer as an incentive for her students. If a student earns enough points, he or she can choose an item to print on the 3D printer. Students have made glasses, plastic robots, and phone amplifiers.
JJ (right), one
of Kiernan’s students, was stunned to learn that NASA recently used the same 3D printing technology he was using to “e-mail” a socket wrench to the International Space Station (read more about NASA’s 3D printing experience here)
Cannell says traditionally, libraries have been places to find and use information, but today, more and more often libraries are places where one can create information as well. Many libraries have what are called “maker spaces”, where people can create in a variety of media, including in some cases 3D printers.
The printers have been in three schools so far, Taconic Hills, Ichabod Crane, and now George Washington. Both printers are reserved for the rest of the 2014-2015 school year, but to reserve a printer for your school or district for the 2015-2016 school year, contact Jen Cannell at (518) 477-8771 or jen.cannell@questar.org.
