Students fired up about machines in STEAM building

It’s been only about five months since the ribbon was cut on the New Buffalo Middle/High School Science Engineering Technology Art and Math (STEAM) building, and already, it’s become a high-energy hub of student activity.

“Engineering, environmental science and computer programming (students) have all moved in after they finished their written curricula and now they’re utilizing the space for machines and programming applications,” Richard Eberly, the science and Smart lab teacher at the high school, said.

Senior Ellie Cybulski, who’s a member of the school’s Envirothon club, is 3-D printing a bucket that will hang from the bottom of a drone.

The bucket will be lowered from the drone, which has a 5 kilometer range on it.

“So we can send it (the drone) out from a video, be flying it, dip up the water sample with a little carbon fiber bucket we’re going to 3-D print and bring it back and test the water off source and look for pollutants from the

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA

industry in this area,” Eberly said.

Cybulski, who plans to major in marine biology in college, said that in the past, students have had to go out in waders in the water.

“Now, with the drone, it’ll be easier to go out there and take it from any water source, like the lake, and you can test pH, temperature, nitrogen, phosphate in the water to see what kind of organisms live there,” she said.

Savannah Periolat, a junior who’s taking the engineering class, had 3-D printed a giant bearing that uses marbles for the walls in it that goes on a lazy Susan for her makeup.

She said she didn’t “know what engineering was” until she started taking the class this past trimester.

“Now, I’ve worked on a whole bunch of machines – I’ve 3-D printed a whole lot, we work on the CNC machines,” Periolat, who cut in the CNC machine the wooden disk that goes on top of the Lazy Susan, said.

A junior who’s in the engineering class, Jaydon Berger was training junior Dre Becarra how to use the CNC machine to cut out a skateboard.

Eberly said the long boards are “fully operational.”

“We cut it out so it’s quite precision –if you take your measurements, it’s very exacting,” he said.

Berger was taught by Eberly on how to use the machine.

“The thought for the long run is to get us all teaching each other so we can all understand and better ourselves and progress forward in endorsements as well and can also teach the lower class men,” he said.

Students practice on smaller printers and micro CNC machines in a classroom before moving on to the industrial ones in the STEAM building.

Eberly said a printer was sent to the elementary school. Engineering students designed a safety cage, which also was made for the micro CNC machines, for the printer.

“We’re going to get a cart for it so they’ll have a model 3-D printer to go to different classrooms for different purposes with the safety cage,” he said. The elementary school is looking to create Makerspace in the media center, which Eberly said will also include 3-D printers.

He added that he hopes the safety cage on the printer at the elementary school will work, as cages can be made for other printers “so they can have a safe Makerspace.”

Eberly said that he challenges students to see if “anything in their imagination can be in their hands in 45 minutes.”

“That’s the goal - what did you dream up and can you make it in 45 minutes, can you make it in a class period by coming up with a construct in your mind, design it and then producing it,” he said.

Eberly said that in engineering, they test those components.

“That’s where material science and things like that come up because we sometimes have to change the material we’re using to handle the strengths and capabilities we need for that part,” he said.

Dennis Charles “Denny” Beckman 1950-2023

Dennis Charles

“Denny” Beckman, 73, a lifelong resident of Three Oaks, passed away from complications while at the University of Kentucky Hospital, Lexington Tuesday, May 2, 2023.

His life began March 22, 1950 in St. Joseph, Michigan, the youngest of three children, born to William “Bill” and Martha Ackerman. He married Katherine Sue Krieger September 22, 1979 in Trinity Lutheran Church of Sawyer.

Denny was a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. He adored his daughter and cherished his grandchildren, who were his life. Denny was proud to be a veteran who served honorably in the United States Army 82nd Airborne from 1969 to 1972. He was at the Three Oaks American Legion Post 204 – of which he was a member for thirty-four years - everyday at 4:00 p.m. His wife and daughter tease that his other “families” were Three Oaks Volunteer Fire