Tinkerspace a draw at River Valley Tech Center

Taylor Drinker likes raspberry pi - but not the kind you think. The 16-year-old Springfield High School junior loves the school's new Tinkerspace, and admits she practically lives there while school is in session.

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Photo by Len Emery Alexander Woychowski and Chip Audette of Springfield look over a plastic mockup that was produced on a 3-D printer at the River Valley Tech Center in Springfield. Published June 13, 2016 in the Rutland Herald Tinkerspace a draw at River Valley Tech Center By SUSAN SMALLHEER SPRINGFIELD — Taylor Drinker likes raspberry pi – but not the kind you think. The 16-year-old Springfield High School junior loves the school’s new Tinkerspace, and admits she practically lives there while school is in session. The Tinkerspace, part of the wave of “maker spaces” popping up all over the state, is located in the River Valley Technical Center, which adjoins the high school. “I wore out my sneakers coming down here between classes,” said Drinker, who used the equipment and machines in the Tinkerspace to build a video game she calls “Arcade.” She uses a small handheld computer called a “raspberry pi” to operate it. Drinker was one of a couple of students on hand during Wednesday’s open house at the Tinkerspace, in an attempt to gauge public interest in using the space. Drinker, in addition to her video game, used one of the 3D printers to create a cryptex, programming the machine to make the individual plastic rings that make up the little pocket vault. It’s a spool lock for a flash drive. While it looks like it was made out of rings of antique ivory, it’s actually made of plastic. “I’ve been interested in technology for a while,” said Drinker, who said she hopes to go to college to major in “human-computer interaction.” “I got very attached to the 3D printer. I had the app on my phone and I’d run down to fix it all the time,” she said. The Tinkerspace has three top quality 3D printers, which are a big draw, according to Scott Farr, the superintendent/director of the regional technical center. Grant money paid for the new technology, he said. Since the Tinkerspace opened earlier this year, it’s proved popular with students and staff and now the school, along with the Springfield Regional Development Corp., want to open it up to the general public. “What’s the history of Springfield? Innovation!,” said Bob Flint, executive director of the Springfield Regional Development Corp. Flint said the center now wants to open up the space to people “to come in and explore and tinker.” He said the Tinkerspace would be open to the public during “off hours,” or weekends or evening. Flint said the state of Vermont has been supporting the creation of such spaces, including ones in Burlington, Rutland and Montpelier. Kelly Broker-Campbell, the community outreach coordinator for the tech center, said Tinkerspace is designed to support students’ curiosity and creativity. In addition to the 3D printers, the tech center recently added a vinyl cutter, which would allow the students to make practical things such as magnet bumper stickers. “It’s a tech shop that will allow people to use the tools to make something they want to make,” she said. http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20160613/NEWS02/160619844