good at math type the stereotypical
eyeglasses an introvert the one who
doesn’t really excel in all areas of
school the one who doesn’t live up to
the well-rounded student ideal the child
that gets bored in a traditional lecture
the child that is smart but may not
apply himself because he’s tuned out the
child that can’t leave well enough alone
so he has to take things apart that
child walks into high school on it’s
that first day terrified of what the
next four years will be he goes through
that first day unimpressed it seems like
an intellectual wasteland he meets some
people that day some will become good
acquaintances but nothing more the
future looks bleak high school is
looking like a more boring more awkward
more grueling extension of middle school
enter the modern makerspace this child
comes to school one day and approaches
something completely new instead of
doing projects at home he has a place at
school to feel welcome and to work on a
hands-on project for some odd reason
although weird kids always on their
computers magically appear in this
makerspace they come out of the woodwork
this child finally has an opportunity to
make friends who share a common interest
this child finally feels at home now if
you haven’t figured it out by yet this
child is me three years ago I saw at
different places on campus to find
myself I hung out at the library at the
Student Union at the cafeteria then our
school opened a brand new Innovation Lab
a makerspace for those who don’t know
what a makerspace is it’s basically
today’s version of what our parents
generation called shop so where students
can make stuff with their own hands so
our students can imagine problem-solve
create innovate collaborate and learn by
actually doing or making as students we
all had our doubts whether this
makerspace they kept calling the AI lab
or innovation lab was even going to open
before we graduated it seemed like
whenever something new would come it
always benefited those after us but this
new AI lab was built quickly and it
opened by the beginning of my junior
year just in time to save me from my
blue bleak future I’d been dreading
there are many types of maker spaces
proliferating at schools all throughout
the country indeed to the maker movement
is a zeitgeist of today our version of
the makerspace here at I lab here at
Pine Crest happens to be a high-tech AI
lab
we’ve got 9 3d printers one laser cutter
– band saws one drill one lathe one CNC
mill to grind stones for ham sauce
tendrils 12 CAD computers over a million
parts and tools and a slew of nerds
eager to use all of them students and
adults I think we’re probably skeptical
at first about all this fancy equipment
and what the purpose of the eye lab is
what the students actually be able to
use all the fancy equipment but they
actually able to catch up on a
technological learning curve or they
actually make something worthwhile
I’ll now invite my robotics team a
Christian up on stage to demonstrate
so as you can see here is our never mind
it’s not functioning properly so this
our powerful this is called the father
this is what we worked on this here and
basically it has some cool features it
launches these wiffle balls you see here
up in the air into a goal and it’s
called shooting mode it involves a lot
of really cool stuff so it’s a it does
some cool stuff and force it’s not
working right now so however there’s
still a lot of work that goes into
something as simple as shooting a ball
first let’s start with the mechanical
there’s the frame the intake the shooter
the intake guide modules within each
module more work needs to be done
what kind of intake would we use what
kind of shooter would we use let’s go of
it further in our intake what kind of
tubing would we use we’ve switched ours
out more than five times just for
testing purposes the tubing we use is
red medical grade surgical tubing with
PLA plastic threaded inside something is
symbol as the tubing you use can make or
break the robots efficiency moving on
from mechanical aspects let’s show some
love for our programmers what did it
take to program that what it would do
well first let’s talk about logic when a
ball is rolled up into the intake the
intake takes the ball into the shooter
after it’s there we some have to detect
the ball exists to do so we use sensors
to detect the light reflected off the
surface of the ball footballs blocking
the light stream we know that a ball was
in once the ball was in we run our
sequence to launch the ball overall the
amount of designing building and
programming of that of that was a
Herculean task this robot is an example
of the glue which makes a makerspace
work which is the big project that
students can work on together without a
large project to work on makerspace you
just end up being a large mess projects
can bring student teams together and let
leaders emerge from the group with a
herd of nerds anything is possible and
group projects help bring the best of
the best
together robotics is the sport of the
mind for those who don’t play football
or soccer and builds character by
introducing everyone to an important
team role everyone on a robotics team is
essential and it’s necessary to have a
very group of engineers and designers
for a team to function well similarly if
we all know that most nerds have social
issues and bringing them together helps
break them out of that stereotype more
than just the project that’s work on
what’s made in makerspaces is the
foundation for successful career in
engineering including skills in
mechanical engineering Electrical
Engineering engineering design and
architecture 3d modeling programming and
probably dozens more what’s built in a
makerspace goes beyond those four walls
and ruins itself deep into the lives of
those who work there every project I’ve
worked on in the AI lab has taught me
more than the last and these things
can’t really be taught in a traditional
classroom that you can be told how
circuits and voltage work it requires
hands-on experience building testing and
creating to truly grasp the concepts of
a complex circuit the coming together of
nerds allows to be done what’s never
been done before and builds core
engineering values for everyone involved
makerspace mentors and students alike
learn something new every day and that’s
what makes makerspace is important
everywhere for those who have never
visited a makerspace I implore you to
visit the iLab once you’re done here
today there are awesome things being
done there every day from robotics to
programming to circuitry to anything you
can imagine all your attic go to a
robotics competition when you get the
chance it’s really more of a spectator
sport than you’d think well it’s not
exactly battle bots it’s there’s still a
ton of excitement and energy the most
important takeaway from what I’m saying
is that as students we have to ensure
that the next generation of kids
teenagers and even adults have maker
spaces in which they can work on their
own projects and on projects with others
sowing the seeds for the next generation
of thinkers creators inventors and
engineers lies on us and we have to
ensure that maker spaces like ours exist
in the future no matter where you are
there are always nerds looking to
looking for a place to express
themselves and bring new skills for
their lives
and a makerspace is the perfect place
for that thank you [Applause]