Holiday kits for JOYful kids
As Christmas time approaches, our two laser cutters in the Thayer Machine Shop get very busy, not with engineering projects but with bookmarks, candleholders, glue together jewelry boxes and ornaments. Recently, I noticed Professor Doug Van Citters attending to a multiple part cutting job on our big laser. all about sharing holiday giving and fun.
The work had a Christmas flavor to it, so I asked Doug if he was making Christmas presents? Yes and no. Yes, they would probably become part of holiday giving, but not in the usual way. Doug was putting together laser cut lantern, cabin and sleigh kits that he would be sharing with several Hanover Ray school classes this holiday time. Doug explained to me that he has been designing and kitting up ornaments like these for several years. He makes up laser cut ornament kits, enough so that each kid and the teacher in the class can assemble their ornament to take home. When I first saw what he was creating, I thought he was building parts in support of their “maker” program, that might be a side benefit but Doug’s effort was all about sharing holiday giving and fun.
This year he made up enough sleighs, lanterns and cabins to host 3 classes of 18 students. Along with cutting out all the parts and personalizing each ornament with the child’s name. With ornament parts in hand, Doug goes into the classes and demonstrates how to glue and assemble their parts to make. He is one of many faculty that reach out to area schools in support of STEM and other hands on “Making”.
Along with leading holiday activities at our area school Doug teaches several courses and research projects at Thater School of Engineering. https://engineering.dartmouth.edu/people/faculty/douglas-van-citters
Several area schools come to our Thayer Machine shop – http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/mshop – to experiment with making of all kinds but the three favorite activities are laser cutting, 3D printing and hand casting. We have two laser cutters in our shop. They are by far, the most used tool in our entire array of making equipment. These machines are open to all but require safety training and a test on safe operation before being rewarded with an account. We are in the process of buying and installing 3 new laser cutters over the next year. Choosing the right machine has taken more time and research than I first expected. If you want the skinny on laser cutting and engraving machines, let me know.