Remote Making for Home School Student in Hawaii
In August 2016, through its Makers For Good program, the SCU Maker Lab demonstrated for the first time its long-range capability for providing educational 3D printing and fabrication to students. Home-school student Kainalu Palaualelo, a 4th grader from Kailua, Hawaii, submitted a design for 3D printing and was able to watch his design being fabricated via a livestream broadcast. Kainalu submitted a design and then remotely consulted with Maker Lab students and staff in order to improve his design through several iterations. Once the final design was reached, the print was executed, and Kainalu watched from his home in Hawaii. Kainalu is interested in engineering and robotics and was excited to learn about the design and manufacturing process as part of this program. Remote fabrication and design support is one example of how the SCU Maker Lab is expanding its outreach work to include school visits through the use of a new Mobile Maker Lab as well as conducting teacher training sessions for local educators.