Forward
362
Days, 47 hours, and 100 minutes that the printers have run since moving into Jewett Hall in 2021.
Models of miniature human brains requested for a fall cognitive neuroscience class taught by Erika Nyhus, associate professor of neuroscience and psychology.
250
Student visits last semester during walk-in hours. (If the space is closed, Israel leaves a sign on the door inviting people to find him in his upstairs office so he can open it for them.)
13,160 Meters of filament the printers have used to build objects.
28
Leach’s storm-petrel tubes printed to help scientists study the endangered seabird on Kent Island. Monitoring the petrels, which nest underground, requires a lot of bird handling, but with the new 3D-printed tubes, which can be augmented with tiny sensors that weigh the birds and alert scientists to when they enter and exit their nest, the birds can be left more in peace.
By the Numbers
Techno Craft Bowdoin’s Maker Space got its start eight years ago with just one 3D printer in the office of David Israel P’25, a member of the College’s academic technology and consulting team. Since then, it has moved into a series of bigger rooms on campus while acquiring a growing suite of sophisticated machines. This summer, the space had its most major expansion yet, into the large front room of Jewett Hall, which doubled its size. Israel also bought new furniture and received more machines from other departments. Currently, the space is outfitted with fourteen 3D printers, a laser engraver, a vinyl cutter, and two 3D scanners. Along with Israel, a staff of student lab instructors run the space during walk-in hours. They’re ready to assist any student or employee with an idea for a classroom assignment or hobby. The Maker Space is not just helpful for academics but is a fun outlet for students, Israel said. “A lot of students are very busy and don’t have the time or bandwidth to take an art class. But they want to be creative. The Maker Space is like the craft barn for the twenty-first century.”
14 BOWDOIN MAGAZINE WINTER 2024 | CLASSNEWS@BOWDOIN.EDU
960
Hours needed to build the 3D-printed replica of the lion statues that grace the Walker Art Building steps. Practically a Maker Space mascot, the printed lion is made of multicolored blocks of bio-based plastic made from renewable sources like corn or sugar cane.
500
Cork coasters given to incoming first-year students last fall to print their own custom Bowdoin-themed dorm accessory.
639 Objects created, from anatomical models to missing chess pieces.
5
Student workers trained to help visitors use the gadgets.
30
Different colors of printer filament. Israel is always buying new materials for the 3D printers—filaments with names like quantum silver raspberry, salmon red, sparkle yellow, and a perennial favorite, glow-in-the-dark.