Dinosaurs are arriving at local libraries and schools, including Antrim’s James A. Tuttle Library, courtesy of Dave Dewitt of Dublin.
“The kids see them, and they run to them, and it’s all they do,” said Youth Services Coordinator Laurie Cass-Griggs.
Dewitt, who used to be in the manufacturing business, 3-D printed the dinosaurs almost on a whim because of his grandson, Caleb, who loves dinosaurs.
“He really got me doing all this,” he said. “I didn’t really know too much about dinosaurs, to tell you the truth.”
Dewitt first began working with the library in the spring and summer, when he got a newer series of 3-D printing machines and decided that he would donate one of his prior printers to them. For Cass-Griggs, this was a dream come true.
“I was very excited about it,” she said.
The library had previously used a 3-D printer from the state, which can be loaned out to various libraries. Cass-Griggs kept asking for it back, until the library received the one from Dewitt.
Another of the printers went to the Avenue A Community Center, and Dewitt began working with both groups on programs about 3-D printing. He helped introduce youths to Tinker-CAD, a program for designing the printer’s products that is intended to be accessible for them.
“It’s pretty cool what they learn,” Dewitt said, from math to spatial relations, not to mention geometry from all of the shapes involved.
Cass-Griggs said youths are fascinated by the printer, and will often get excited and ask questions immediately upon seeing it.
“It’s a great STEM activity,” she said.
It can also be a learning experience in less-obvious ways, Cass-Griggs said. For example, she uses a failed cup that she tried to design which came out without a bottom as an example to show kids that it’s OK to make mistakes.
“I say, ‘See kids, even grown-ups can make really dumb mistakes,’” she said. “But that’s what this teaches you, it teaches you to experiment. And that’s what kids need – it’s OK to fail.”
Dewitt, whose mother was an elementary school teacher and whose father was a high school science and shop teacher before going into manufacturing, said this educational element is important to him.
“I’ve always enjoyed teaching people things,” he said. “I really enjoy, with the kids, when you see a light bulb go on in their head, and when they ask really cool questions. It’s just fun seeing that educational thing take place.”
After Dewitt made a set of dinosaurs for his grandson, he found a set of models and scaled them to make them bigger. When he saw how much his grandson enjoyed them, he made another set and donated it to the library.
Along with the dinosaurs came a series of fences and railings, designed to look like the enclosures from “Jurassic Park.”
“You can’t have dinosaurs roaming around without them being enclosed in something,” Dewitt said.
When Cass-Griggs told him how much the children were enjoying the dinosaurs, Dewitt set out to donate more of them. So far, he has given them to Dublin Community Preschool and Childcare Center, Dublin Consolidated School, South Meadow School, Dublin Public Library and Monadnock Community Early Learning Center. He hopes to get a set to every local elementary school.
“That should keep my printers busy,” he said.
Along with the dinosaurs, he has donated books on the subject, as well as coloring books and worksheets to allow children to make up stories about the toys.
“There’s basic play value there,” he said. “The cool thing with dinosaurs is that you can’t really be wrong.”
“He’s very giving,” Cass-Griggs said. “It’s been great for our library, and we’re blessed to have him.”