3D printing coming to Plummer school

Lakeside Junior/Senior High School in Plummer is expanding its capabilities to include 3D printing, design and fabrication with help from the Idaho STEM Action Center.

At a recent workshop the STEM Action Center held in Boise in partnership with the Discovery Center of Idaho and the Digital Harbor Foundation, Lakeside teacher Stefani Hoffman learned how to operate, maintain and troubleshoot 3D printers.

The professional development opportunity is part of FabSLAM, a team-based digital fabrication

competition launched by the Digital Harbor Foundation where youth in Idaho, Baltimore and Pittsburgh practice design, iteration and rapid prototyping skills primarily focused on 3D design and 3D printing. With guidance from a coach, each team develops and documents a product that fits the annual theme and requirements. The competition culminates in a FabSLAM Showcase where teams present their products to a panel of judges and a public audience for review and feedback.

Twenty teachers from 15 schools throughout Idaho took part in the training. They also received brand-new 3D printers to bring back home to their schools, and they will assemble teams in their communities to participate in FabSLAM and serve as coaches. Visit www.digitalharbor.org/fabslam/idaho for more details.

Conceived in the office of Gov. Butch Otter, the Idaho STEM Action Center was approved during the 2015 legislative session to help produce a competitive workforce by implementing kindergarten-to-career science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education programs aligned with industry needs. During the 2016 session, the Idaho Legislature set the STEM Action Center’s ongoing annual budget at $2.4 million, appropriated $2 million into a STEM Education Fund to help start up local STEM programs and approved the addition of a computer science program manager to oversee the Computer Science Initiative.