LSC’s Precious Plastic Workspace is nearing completion! A few exciting updates:

⚙️All machines are onsite and being set up

🥽Program testing starts this month

♻️ Monthly plastic pickups from our partners at MakeInspires

Workspace: Due to delays in a few core components of the machines - specifically for the Shredder Control Panel, we just received the last of the machines. Our STEM Innovation Team, including Rosa Catala, Alejandro Melendez, and Brandon Daniels, unboxed the shredder and extruder this week (pictured below).

Programming: We are now starting to test the machines and calibrate settings for PLA. After testing content this month, we’re expecting to pilot student programming during LSC Science Camp! This year’s Science Camp themes include “Ready, Set, Science!” (engineering), “Hello, Future” (robotics/technology), and “Calling All Chemists” (chemistry), where the Precious Plastics Workspace can be introduced.

Partnership: LSC is partnering with MakeInspires as a plastic collection site. With three locations in New York, MakeInspires NYC is collecting waste from their 3D printing workshops for recycling in our Precious Plastic Workspace. Rosa and the STEM Innovation team will make monthly visits to MakeInspires NYC, reducing plastic waste in STEM education (pictured below).

To date, we’ve collected over 80 pounds of plastic waste. Staff are also volunteering to sort plastics by color and assist with initial setup of the workspace. We look forward to sharing more news soon!

Since our kickoff meeting in September, we’ve been making steady progress on creating our Precious Plastic Workspace! Initially planned to be located within our MakerSpace lab, the Precious Plastics Workspace is now a dedicated workshop in our Tech & Design lab.

The workspace will include a basic shredder, desktop extruder, injection molding machine, and several mold sets fabricated by both Citizen Scientific Workshop and Precious Plastics USA. We anticipate we’ll have our workspace officially set up by the end of April for initial testing.

We’ve also ordered additional air purifiers, cleaners, and filters as a precaution for our active workspace. These safety elements are similar to the precautions used in the MakerSpace, where over 20 3D printers often run simultaneously. These safety features are included due to the heating and melting of various plastic materials, which is primarily PLA filament used during 3D printing workshops.

Our staff is collecting plastic waste from student workshops and community partners during the initial phase of its Precious Plastics programming. To date LSC has collected approximately 70 pounds of plastic waste!

While we’re still waiting on a few of the machines to arrive, LSC has already started development for its new student workshops. The planned workshops will focus on the following:

-Chemical investigations: Students will learn about the challenges of recycling plastics and how different kinds of plastics respond to heat; certain plastics release toxic fumes when melted or burned; the goal is to emphasize the importance of testing plastic before melting it; PLA is generally considered non-toxic.

-Identifying Plastics: Students will review different 3D printing materials and what they're made of (polyethylene terephthalate [PET], polyethylene [PE], polyvinyl chloride [PVC], Polylactic Acid [PLA], etc.), what's safe to do with them and how to test identify unknown plastics.

-Recycling PLA: Students will learn how plastic waste can be used to create new products; from collecting and identifying, to shredding and melting, students will participate in the production of recycled products, including learning about the technology used for processing plastics and its future potential.

Hello from our Kick-Off Meeting! (From left to right: Ivory Williams, Vice President of STEM Education; Alejandro Melendez, Senior Manager of STEM Innovation; Kristina Reintamm, Senior Director of External Affairs; Rosa Catala, Director of STEM Innovation; Katelyn Fatzler, Grant Writer.)

Our team at Liberty Science Center (LSC) is excited to introduce new STEM programming on the impact of plastic waste and methods of repurposing single-use plastics. The STEM Innovation team (Rosa Catala, Alejandro Melendez, and Brandon Daniels) are leading the development of our Precious Plastics Workspace - which will include a plastic shredder, extruder, and injector for onsite programming. 

LSC's Precious Plastics Workspace will be located within our MakerLab, where we currently offer workshops to celebrate and encourage the creative, curious, and inventive spirits of our students. The maker culture is at the heart of these workshops where students get hands-on experience with innovative solutions for tomorrow’s problems.