Racer3770
Member
Hello!
My name is James Smith and I teach US History at the Dayton Regional STEM School in Kettering, Ohio. At the end of every school year, we host a 10 day immersive experience called "STEMmersion" where teachers have the opportunity to design a special new course to offer to students. Students choose from a large list of course offerings developed by the teachers. I've been making pens for over a decade now and I am offering a Pen Design course for 30 excited students towards the end of May.
A co-teacher and I bring in 5-10 lathes, teach a safety course, and get students hands-on experience with the equipment. During the 10 days, we will offer mini courses on resin casting, segmenting, polymer clay, 3D printed blanks, and more! Each student will create at least one ballpoint, rollerball, and fountain pen. Most make several more!
The project portion of the pen making course is brand new this year! We'll be joining forces with a local university to CAD and metal print some pen kit parts! I'm so excited for this.
I asked for donations for this program two years ago and the pen community came through in a BIG way. I was stunned and humbled by the generosity of total strangers that helped get this program off the ground. Dozens of you sent all kinds of pen blanks and kits in for my students to use and I am so thankful.
To date, 40 kids ages 11-18 have gone through the class and I know more than a handful of them asked their parents to purchase lathes so they could start making pens at home.
If you have any spare wood or acrylic pen blanks, I can guarantee they'll be put into the hands of a first-time turner. Students in the past have also enjoyed trying out new types of pen kits. If you have any of these things laying around in your shop, would you be willing to donate them to our class?
You can send them directly to the school at:
ATTN: James Smith
Dayton Regional STEM School
1724 Woodman Drive
Kettering, OH
45420
Thank you so much. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me! I have attached some photos from the last two years.
James Smith
My name is James Smith and I teach US History at the Dayton Regional STEM School in Kettering, Ohio. At the end of every school year, we host a 10 day immersive experience called "STEMmersion" where teachers have the opportunity to design a special new course to offer to students. Students choose from a large list of course offerings developed by the teachers. I've been making pens for over a decade now and I am offering a Pen Design course for 30 excited students towards the end of May.
A co-teacher and I bring in 5-10 lathes, teach a safety course, and get students hands-on experience with the equipment. During the 10 days, we will offer mini courses on resin casting, segmenting, polymer clay, 3D printed blanks, and more! Each student will create at least one ballpoint, rollerball, and fountain pen. Most make several more!
The project portion of the pen making course is brand new this year! We'll be joining forces with a local university to CAD and metal print some pen kit parts! I'm so excited for this.
I asked for donations for this program two years ago and the pen community came through in a BIG way. I was stunned and humbled by the generosity of total strangers that helped get this program off the ground. Dozens of you sent all kinds of pen blanks and kits in for my students to use and I am so thankful.
To date, 40 kids ages 11-18 have gone through the class and I know more than a handful of them asked their parents to purchase lathes so they could start making pens at home.
If you have any spare wood or acrylic pen blanks, I can guarantee they'll be put into the hands of a first-time turner. Students in the past have also enjoyed trying out new types of pen kits. If you have any of these things laying around in your shop, would you be willing to donate them to our class?
You can send them directly to the school at:
ATTN: James Smith
Dayton Regional STEM School
1724 Woodman Drive
Kettering, OH
45420
Thank you so much. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me! I have attached some photos from the last two years.
James Smith
