The UNMC Makers Club is hosting its second annual Invent-a-thon, an educational outreach event aimed at high school students.
The event will provide an introduction to 3-D printing, with students being given a real-world medical issue and competing to develop a 3-D printed design to solve the problem.
Students also will use iEXCEL technology during the weeklong challenge, which will take place on campus and at DO Space at 72nd and Dodge Streets, said UNMC student Tim Bielecki, event organizer and member of the Makers Club.
“We want to make sure we’re enabling the students in the Omaha metro to get a better introduction to this technology,” he said. “We want to get them hands-on working with it, to get them encouraged about this new technology and thinking about it.”
The challenge allows students to see the benefits of the technology, Bielecki said.
“We put it into an application that can be used to help people’s lives, so they can see the beginning of a technology and how that technology can morph into something that an everyday person can actually use.”
The final presentation by students may involve use of iEXCEL augmented reality technology to demonstrate their designs, as well, Bielecki said.
“This is the future of presentation and education,” he said. “They’re going to be judged not only on their design, but their presentation before a panel of judges who are experts in the field.”
Health care is only one field with applications for 3-D printing, Bielecki said, and last year’s Invent-a-thon drew students with a variety of interests, such as robotics and art. He expects to see the same this year.
“There is a company that does 3-D printing of ceramics, so they can make very interesting designs,” he said. “People can make clothing and other types of art, too. But UNMC’s strength obviously is in medicine, so we’re using the resources we have here to get kids interested.
“Getting high school students involved helps jump-start the people who will lead the field in the future,” he said.
The event will run from Feb.27-March 3, with final judging taking place at UNMC on March 3. Bielecki invites the UNMC community to attend the final presentations, which will be held from 4:30-7 p.m. March 3 in the Sorrell Center, Room 1005.