FAB LAB visits: Westside students apply STEM lessons to the holidays

In early December, Hood River Valley High School robotics students took the Fab Lab to Westside to help students in Teri Bauman, Megan Farrell, Nicole Ligon and Matt Rutledge’s classes design Christmas ornaments on the Tinkercad iPad app, a 3D design app. The next step: Cutting the shapes out via laser cutter the week before school let out for winter break.

“Then we thought it would be fun for them to see the ornaments get cut out,” said engineering and math teacher/robotics adviser Jeff Blackman, so he hosted 44 students at a time — with help from his robotics teams — in his classroom to watch the process.

Because not all 44 kids could stand around the laser cutter at once, Blackman and his students helped the third graders create tiny robots using a toothbrush donated by A Kidz Dental Zone — just the head part — and an engine, battery and pipe cleaner.

The best part about the robots? “They walk,” said Yocelyn Lachino. Maddy Armstrong and Allie Harbell decided their robots were electric bulls because of the pipe cleaner horns they’d fashioned.

“At first we thought they were moustaches,” Maddy said of the horns. “But now we’re bull fighting.”

“Hopefully I’m in your class when I’m in high school,” Toby Blosser told Blackman as Blackman helped him install his engine.

The Fab Lab has also traveled to May Street Elementary, where fourth graders are working on a similar project; Blackman brought three 3D printers to T Dalby’s classroom, and Blackman was slated to go to help print the ornaments on Dec. 20.

“The coolest part of the program is that high school kids help out,” Blackman said.