Steve, I like the idea. It was mechanical machinery that got me interested in my area of expertise. My question is how does a physical library inspire a sufficient number of “STEM convertible” students? How would we measure the near term and impact and long term societal gain?
4
Mechanical Library
Not fundedImpact certificate
$0raised
$1,000valuation
Longer description of your proposed project
Mechanical Library is a new not-for-profit project to inspire students to understand how the physical world is made. It is a complement to the many learn-to-code educational programs.
It includes:
•A “wall of mechanisms” museum exhibit of the 36-72 most interesting and common mechanisms, such as the Universal Joint, that make our world work. It also demonstrates the many creative approaches to solving the same problem, such as a robotic ‘hand’.
•Mechanical-Library.org is the companion website. Each mechanism has a QR code that brings up the page to explain how it works, with videos, 3D printable models and augmented reality models.
This project is in partnership with NYCfirst.org, which provides STEM education to NYC public school students.
The project is inspired by great engineering teachers and historical books like "507 Mechanical Movements" by Henry T. Brown and the Clark Collection of Mechanical Movement - Boston Museum of Science. This traveling museum exhibit will visit different schools and science museums.
Mechanical Library Project Goals
•Inspire the 'engineering mindset' in middle to high school students, especially those not excited by math and engineering.
•Make something interesting for kids and parents to introduce Mechanical Engineering using practical demonstrations.
•Communicate the opportunities for a career in the well-paid physical technical fields.
•Support teachers who cover these subjects.
Describe why you think you're qualified to work on this
I have long experience with digital and product design, but mainly that I have endless curiosity and not enough knowledge of the subject to be scared away.
Other ways I can learn about you
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-turbek-541b891/
turbek.com for products and published essays on user experience design
How much money do you need?
My time is being donated; I am looking for $10,000 for initial cabinet construction materials. I estimate $90k for complete exhibit and digital materials
Links to any supporting documents or information
https://mechanical-library.org
Estimate your probability of succeeding if you get the amount of money you asked for
>80% assuming no act(s) of god(s)
Steve Turbek
8 months ago
@Tomohaire Thanks for the comment, and excellent questions. To increase scale, I hope to make at least a few copies of the physical library, with a plan to donate some to science museums for public display. An additional copy will travel to various schools in the NYC area, as part of an existing after-school science education program. Finally, I hope to make the plans open sourced for other schools and museums to make available. Near term usage will be measured by QR code accesses for each exhibit, which we will correlate with direct observation research. Measuring ultimate impact will be tricky; there is an embedded hypothesis that technology literacy will improve society. (I happen to agree, but it is debatable). As this library is part of a larger STEM education program, we will follow their metrics of increased number of STEM applicants through its programs. Advice greatly welcomed!