LAB PROJECTS
These are projects that I have designed or co-designed and run with students and teachers, either to introduce technical skills or making as part of a course or as standalone student activities. These generally take place in our Innovation and Design Lab.
Selected Projects
Innovation and Design Lab
I was heavily involved in the design of a space for making and learning at our school. An existing suite of offices was removed and the whole area was redesigned from the ground up. The lab features workspace for students a teachers, flexible project and component storage, various power and hand tools, accessible utilities, dedicated space to display student work, a computer-controlled RFID access system, a 3D printer, and a CNC carving machine. Both individual students and classes utilize the space to enhance engagement and learning.
Autonomous Robots
In the electrical engineering elective that I teach, I give different over-arching prompts each year. One year, the guiding question was about robots: how do they overcome "obstacles?" After designing obstacles, each group completed several Arduino projects that they thought would help them with their final robot - learning servo control, sensor inputs, etc. They proposed specifications for their robots, then built, coded, tested, and revised them. Obstacles varied from the physical barriers to power needs (a solar-powered robot was built with the ability to switch to battery backup in the event of loss of light) to avoidance of temperatures and the triggering of an airbag system to protect from falls.
Continuity Testers
In our honors chemistry course, students had always tested the conductivity of solutions as a way to explore the differences between ionic and covalent compounds and the continuum of ion dissociation. They had always done this with commercially-available testers, but I designed two different models of testers (one using a buzzer and a reproduction of the commercial tester, using LEDs) so that students could learn to solder and have the experience of building their own lab equipment.
Beowulf Shadow Puppets
In a sophomore English course focused on myth and legend, students do not merely read epics, but they need to engage with them critically. They have the task to edit Beowulf into a ten-minute shadow play, raising important questions about structure, narrative, and importance, as well as management of logistics and the design of characters and a stage. The puppets themselves are carved on a CNC carver (Carvey) and mounted on skewers.
Integral and Derivative Curves
The centerpiece concepts of calculus are the derivative and integral, which calculate the slope and area of curves. Despite the many important applications of these in the real world, calculus courses can often proceed as a series of textbook exercises, with the back fo the book or the teacher confirm the correct answers. This project gives students the opportunity to have the universe check their work - they carve a scale model of a curve using a CNC carver and then use a stick mounted on a small pivot to measure the slope of tangent lines (the derivative) and measure the mass (which is proportional to the integral) of the carved curve, which give a tangible confirmation and simple application of these powerful concepts.
CNC-Carved Signs, Plates, and Stamps
A easy introduction to 3D carving can come through the creation of signs or stamps. Words and icons are the simplest level, but the process still requires consideration of bit size, cut depth, and cut type. More complex designs, such as those done by our upper-level art students, can be created by importing images and adjusting the threshold, smoothing, and cut style to achieve the desired effects.
Innovation Mosaic
As an introduction to the Carvey and a group activity to encourage creativity and design, our students created designs to be carved into two-color HDPE tiles. These were collected into a large mosaic, with a sign in the middle featuring several different materials and techniques - each letter was designed by a student or by me, and the background is the schematic for the circuit powering the animated letter 'i.' The animation is original code, run on a Pro Trinket.
3D Printer Pen Projects
While the 3D printer finds a lot of use for structured and planned projects, the freedom and spontaneity of the 3D printer pen is an excellent vehicle for harnessing student creativity and building interest in design and making. The challenge of creating 3D shapes from panels or by building up material is a puzzle with many solutions. For those that prefer 2D art, flat and smooth surfaces provide an excellent canvas.