The grand opening of the Dewey STEM studio was held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m, Saturday, March 18, in the lower level of the Sapulpa Public Library.
The newly opened facility features a photography center, a 3D Printer, a sewing machine, Cricut suite (a Cricut is an electronic cutting machine that can cut all sorts of designs from materials like paper, vinyl, card stock, and iron-on transfers), a craft center, LEGO play area, button maker, various science experiments, a Dungeons and Dragons Adventure area, and a laminator. Video gaming consoles are to be added at a future date.
Library staff were on hand to provide hands-on assistance and to explain how the equipment works.
Youth Librarian Melodie Reader conducted a hands-on science experiment involving shaving cream, food dye, and water, to demonstrate how rain is formed. Ms. Reader helped participants use the button-making machine and gave a detailed explanation of the operation of the 3D printer.
The printer is a “filament” type which uses small round spools of resin material. The filament is fed into a heating chamber in what is called the printer’s “extruder” assembly. It is then is heated to its melting point, in this case approximately 190 degrees Fahrenheit, and then extruded, or shall we say “pushed through a metal nozzle,” while as the extruder assembly traces a path programmed into a computer file to create, layer by layer, the printed object.
There was a box of assorted colors of tiny dragons printed by the machine.
Reader proudly pointed to the photography lighting and backdrops, which include a green screen for “chroma keying” (that is a technique used in TV studios where the weatherman points to a map that in actuality, is a banal green screen).
Staff member Kayla Record demonstrated the Cricut machine which was used to make part of the buttons that read “SPL” (Sapulpa Public Library).
According to Melodie Reader, the STEM Studio is free to use by the general public.
“Teachers can rent this, it’s free to use, and it’s free to everybody.” There is also a bulletin board with post-it notes for people to leave ideas for new features in the STEM Studio. For more information, contact Melodie Reader at 918-224-5624, or mreader@sapulpaok.gov.
