Masks for the pandemic
The "Snack Shack" for a 3D playground
The 3D playground
Having a home lab with industrial-quality 3D printers has several advantages. From creating, printing, and donating hundreds of hard-shell COVID-19 masks to local hospitals during the pandemic to volunteering each year in both of my kid's classrooms to do 3D design and printing projects, I've truly enjoyed giving back. Music has also provided some ways to push the philanthropic. See some of these fun, volunteer projects below.
Mask Making for Peace Health During the Pandemic
My neighbor is the charge nurse at the PeaceHealth ICU. When the pandemic was raging, she complained about the lack of available masks throughout the hospital, including the ICU, and how this was putting her and others' lives in danger. Expected to work anyway, I told her I'd find a way to make some masks for her and others since they were literally out at times. Un-sanctioned, etc., but that was the situation. After that, I spent several months creating and donating hard-shell masks to the hospital until their official supplies caught up. I printed over 200 of these reusable masks in four different sizes. Channel 6 News from Portland even did a story on it. This was one of the most rewarding volunteer projects I've been involved in. See a few pics below, and if you're really into it, message me and I'll send you the instructions PDF I created for printing and post-crafting the mask (the mask is an N-95 reusable).
One of the masks on the printer.
Here's one mask with the removable/replaceable gasket filter inserted.
I added a gasket lining to ensure comfort on the face.
The four different sizes of masks I created.
One of the masks on the printer.
To make wearing the mask more comfortable I created this mask strap in varied lengths. This strap allowed the wearer to avoid having a strap over their ears and was much more secure.
_________________________________
2023 - 2nd Grade at Southridge Elementary - Soap Box Derby
My second-grade daughter's class experienced the excitement of a serious car race in April 2023. It all began with a 2-hour lecture I gave on what I call "The Marriage of Art and Math." We explored the blend of expression and numbers, dreaming together about fun designs. The idea of a soapbox derby quickly emerged, and the kids split into five teams to draw their ideas. The drawing session produced five rough car designs, each with incredibly creative names.
I then went back to my lab and spent the next month or so designing each car, staying true to the kids' visions. My friend Mark Perrin, who builds stores and displays for Keen Footwear, helped me create the perfect race track for our event. When I returned to the class with the cars and track, the kids were beyond excited. See some of the inspirational fun below.
The race track my friend Mark Perrin helped me build.
Being a life-long surfer, the "shark car" was close to my heart.
We used a double elimination system to determine the winner. And even though only one team could win it all, the kids were so psyched to see their car in action no tears were had. Plus, I gave prizes to all for participation.
The five cars designed by the kids: (L to R) Shark, Cookie, Bug, Ghost, and Saturn.
The underside of the Cookie Car
Each kid got to select a Hot Wheel™ car as a prize. There were more than a few smiles.
After the races I let the kids paint their cars however they wanted. So much creativity shown!
The "Cookie" car was a classic, complete with a bitten cookie on the tail!
The Cookie Car on the printer.
Here is the final race that determined the overall winner. I absolutely love the enthusiasm of the kids here, they are so into it. While each car had a different design and weight after construction, we used washers to ensure each car weighed exactly the same before the race. This allowed me to talk about the one, remaining differentiating factor: aerodynamics. Talk about wide-eyed looks! But they got it.
______________________________
Rock for Refugees Benefit Concert
In 1999, during the Kosovo War, I wanted to do something to help the many refugees who were suffering unspeakable conditions. After identifying Mercy Corp. as a good charity to donate to for this end, I organized a seven band concert where all ticket sales would go to the cause. The concert went over very well in Portland and we raised almost $20K in one night. Not sure how much of a dent it made for the Kosovo refugees, but it felt good to help in this small way. Turns out the night of the concert was the last night of music venue operations for one of Portland's most famous clubs, La Luna. What an honor to play there that eve! See more about the music I do in the MUSIC section.
The plaque I received for the Rock for Refugees concert organization.
_____________________________________
2019 - Kid-created Playground - 1st Grade at Southridge Elementary
Giving my typical "Marriage of Art and Math" lecture to the first graders at Southridge resulted in one of the most fun and work-intensive 3D printing projects I've done as a volunteer: the Kid-Created Playground. First we divided the kids into teams, each responsible for coming up with their "dream piece of playground equipment." The result was a fantastic collection of ideas that, if real, would indeed make a great place to play. I took these ideas and built the playground, at a 1/40th scale, and the results are below. This project was a blast to deliver; first, each team got to play with their specific equipment idea, and then place it into the full playground build, complete with wood chips, ball pit balls, and character. It was way too fun!
Here's a mix of videos I took of the kids enjoying their creations and building the final playground on delivery day.
The "Girls Fort" drawing. I took several liberties from here.
The now famous "Southridge Snack Shack," as seen in its first drawing.
The donut-shaped "Snack Shack," one of my favorite designs to come out of the effort.
A 3D rendering of the trampoline I designed for the kids. Looks way cooler in color!
Constructing the playground area with white picket fence.
The removable roof of the "Girl's Fort" on the printer.
Getting the chance to place the "Girl's Fort" into the build. Very serious!
The playground at the school, after the kids went wild with it!
The 3D playground, ready for delivery to the class!
___________________________________
2020 - 3D Bugs - Southridge Elementary - 2nd Grade
When I went into my daughter's second-grade class in late 2019 to give my presentation on art and math, I had no idea what to expect from the kids in terms of a project that day. Once again, I was floored by their creativity. At the time, the kids were studying insects, so that's what we made: custom bugs! The kids divided into six groups to design their bugs, and I was anything but disappointed. Walking away with some great sketches, I was able to design, print, and color the bugs in 3D. As small as they were, I was able to give each kid a copy of the bug they designed. This was a great experience that left the kids imagining all kinds of things they could design and build.
"Mr. Stick" and yes this was around Christmas time.
The "Spikelbee." Best to avoid this one in the wild!
Kid's sketch of the G.A.C.K. 2000
The "G.A.C.K. 2000"
Some G.A.C.K. 2000s soaking after their print.
Kid's sketch of the Anterbutter
The "Anterbutter"
"Trimantis" - Absolutely hilarious!
___________________________________
2023 - The Waterpark - Sunset Ridge Middle School - 5th Grade
I knew that going into a 5th-grade class would be interesting due to the higher levels of brain power I'd encounter. It's incredible to see the difference between just 4th and 5th graders. As such, I was able to level up my lecture on art and math to weave in actual mathematical calculations to help determine various structures. The resulting creative idea, once again driven by separate teams, was a functional water park—well, at least if you were 2 inches tall. See some of the pictures and videos below from this fun project.
Here are some short videos I took of the finished waterpark and the 5th-grade kids enjoying their creation on delivery day.
My proud daughter in class.
One of the Tiki-style huts for the park, after painting.
All of the water park items painted and ready to transport to the school.
The painting process in my garage.
The water park, fully-assembled, ready to deliver.
The 5th-graders in their teams, enjoying their creations before putting the park together in its final form.
One of the twisty slides, aptly-named, "Twisty Slide." Haha.
Our version of a lazy river. Turns out the plastic "tubes" I printed didn't float so well. Learning curve!
The kids playing with the feature they called "Waterfall Blast." Not sure this would pass OSHA standards, but great for miniature people and marbles!
_____________________________________
The 2022 - The Bigfoot Research Center - Southridge Elementary - 4th Grade
As a native Portlander and big-time lover of the outdoors, I've long heard funny tales about the venerable Bigfoot. Supposedly residing in the woods of Washington State, it's no surprise that the kids of Southridge wanted to center their 3D printing project on this mythical creature. Thus, the "Bigfoot Research Center" was born—a camp dedicated to the capture and scientific analysis of, you guessed it, Bigfoot. Once again, the kids' creativity was just astounding.
Another look at the camp, fully set-up.
Most of the research area parts.
Bigfoot is out of his cage here!
The kids that created the design for the "cooking fire" examining their print.
The kids responsible for perimiter security came up with this multi-tower audio blasting alarm idea. Too fun.
Here some kids are arranging the trees for the final diorama.
A ground-level view of the now-set-up research camp, cage in-place.
The computer lab section of the camp.
Of course all researchers will need to sleep!
I didn't capture very much video on delivery day of the Bigfoot Research Center. However, I did get one clip exploring the build during storytime. You guessed it, Bigfoot-themed!
______________________________________________
Rounding it Up
I have truly enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) volunteering at my kids' schools to share my love of art and math. Seeing the look in a kid's eyes when their idea comes to life is simply priceless. Over the years, I've witnessed this inspiration in action as more than a few kids have approached me to let me know that my lecture and the projects we did together pushed them in school and helped them dream of their future careers. What a reward! My efforts here continue (and I've only featured a few of my favorite projects above).