Tag Archives: DIY

Improving Education: 3D Printing Lab Equipment to Help Poor Schools

What can a school do when it does not have the budget to buy proper lab equipment for its students? The team at Tekla Labs believes they have a solution: 3D print your own.

Tekla Labs is an organization formed by students at University of California, Berkeley and has launched a PRINTmyLAB Design Challenge. They are looking for 3D printing blueprint submissions by April 30.

Some suggestions from the website:

1) DIY Alternative: A 3D printing blueprint for an item that can replace a commercial product or a specific component of a commercial product used in scientific laboratories or in scientific/engineering research. Especially helpful if this part tends to break or get lost.
2) Novel Gadget: A 3D printing blueprint for a novel item not commercially available that is of use in scientific laboratories or in scientific/engineering research. Invent! Imagine! Print!

Inspired by a visit to schools in South America that lacked funding and basic equipment for science experiments, the students launched this design challenge to improve education in poor schools.

Read more at Tekla Labs or in a feature by PC World.

 

Students image used under Creative Commons from lumierefl.