Lorain County Community College Fab Lab

My Friday experience was the best life changing event that happened to me (well besides getting accepted into Early College). Now onto what happened that day. On Friday morning, all of the students that were chosen went to the office to get our official cases for our IDs. Then we spent about three hours in the study hall talking about meeting President Obama and what we were excited for.
Now comes the fun part, getting ready for the meeting. We had amazing pizza and cookies that the school provided for us. Then we began to talk about our bucket lists with Ms. Valentine and Ms. Blankenship, which really helped calm the nerves. We cleaned up, and went through security, which wasn’t as fun as I thought because I wanted to go through the huge airport security ones. So then we waited in a college classroom, which confused me because I thought we were just going to the Fab Lab right away.
Then, we traveled along to the FabLab. Personally, I think the FabLab is an important piece of learning because the FabLab helps us learn how to do new math things in a different and more technological way. We were making cereal boxes that day to see how we could go green. I was nervous because my best friend Desirae, who was also chosen, told me that she already saw the president. My heart beat was sky rocketing and it felt like my heart was going to explode. Then, as soon as I was semi back to normal, President Obama walked in.
President Obama was so energetic when we came in and visited with us. When he was going around and shaking other people’s hands, I became more level headed because I wasn’t as nervous anymore. President Obama was really excited to meet us, and we were excited to meet him. As for continuing the cereal box making, my partner and I were getting frustrated because we couldn’t figure out how to change the width without making it all lopsided. Mr. Zitek, the FabLab director, really helped us out with the program we were using, Corel Draw.
I was kind of sad that we didn’t get to finish our cereal boxes, because the FabLab crew wanted to beat the traffic. We then went back to the study hall and watched President Obama live via LCCC telecast. Overall, my experience on Friday was life changing. I cannot wait to tell my children and grandchildren that I met one of the nation’s presidents. I am glad that I was chosen and that I got to represent Early College High School when meeting President Obama.

Kelsey Gallaher :)

My experience Friday is one that I shall not forget. As soon as he walked into the room and I heard his voice, my heart started to pound; I was nervous and scared. I was scared because I was worried that the slightest thing would set off the Secret Service, and they would swoop in. When President Obama walked around the Fab Lab, and shook my hand, I became relieved, because I saw how cool and laid back he was. As he was walking around the room, he was asking questions about what we were doing and we told him that we were designing a cereal box. President Obama seemed very interested that we were using this kind of technology at such an age. He was impressed that we knew what we were doing, and how well we were able to do it. He also seemed impressed with how well we were able to explain what we were doing. Although he could not spend much time with us, when he was there I could almost feel a royal feeling. I wish he could have stayed longer. I was so excited that I actually got to meet President Obama, because now I can cross it off my list of things to-do before I die. I believe that meeting the President of the United States was an astounding way to start off the year.
Nick Swartz

I will never forget meeting President Barack Obama. The morning of Friday, January 22, 2010, I found myself both anxious and extremely nervous. The thought of meeting the President of the United States was not a thought I took very lightly. When I found out I would be meeting him, I found myself in disbelief. It was not until my fellow peers and I were being scanned and searched by the Secret Service, that the gravity of the situation actually began to sink in. Sitting in the FabLab waiting for the President’s arrival, was both exciting and nerve wracking. It was then that I began contemplating all of the benefits of using the FabLab. As geometry students, we work with three-dimensional shapes and in the FabLab we were given the privilege to see, create, and modify three-dimensional shapes. My partner Akil and I were editing a design for a butterfly-shaped rocking chair that we would be creating. We would be creating this rocking chair using a special machine called the Shop Bot. After seeing the President enter the building, I could not believe my eyes. When he entered the room, the entire atmosphere lit up. I was the first person he approached. The President shook my hand and asked my name. At that moment, I realized that I did not have to worry because he is in fact just a regular person, but meeting him was still an honor. President Obama then walked around the room, examining everyone’s work and allowing them to introduce themselves. At that point, Akil and I went into a different part of the FabLab which contained the Shop Bot. We then began carving our rocking chair out of wood. After a few minutes, President Obama entered the room and asked us a simple question about transferring data to the machine. He also asked Akil and me what future careers we have in mind. We both told him we were looking to be in the medical field and he said he was proud. When he shook my hand to leave, I could not resist, I leaned in and asked the President for a high-five. He simply smiled and raised his hand and then offered me a fist bump. High-fiving and fist-bumping the President was something I never thought I would accomplish, but I will now carry the memory for the rest of my life. After he left smiling, I couldn’t believe what had actually just happened.

Well I would have to say that my response would be close to what Noah had mentioned.

I was, however, slightly nervous and excited about Obama showing up into the Fab Lab. All the hard work we had all put in to prep for his arrival: from working 12+ hours a day for 2 to 3 days straight, to the crazy and unexpected jobs and deadlines that needed to be met and completed, wondering if any of us, including myself, would be able to get it all done and would it all be good enough for the president or not. I have to admit it was worth it though. Just to say that I was able to be that close to a very influential person, one that a lot of people look up to was awesome. Not a lot of people can say that. And it is certainly not something that happens everyday.



I remember being in the Fab Lab helping one of the students on a problem he was working on. When I had looked up from the computer screen, I saw him. The president was standing in front
of the ShopBot looking up through the glass window that separated the students and myself in the Fab Lab from where he was standing in the CIM Lab. His eyes were glued to the duel projector screens behind me. One of them was displaying a picture of the ShopBot, the other was showing the 25 watt laser that was cutting one of the students' box project. Obama's first look on his face was along the lines of "I want to be in there because that looks so cool". And I just stood there and smiled because I saw a change on his face that I had seen so many times before, with so many different people before him. It was a look of discovery, disbelief, amazement and a (very large) bit of those creative gears turning in his head.



After Noah had walked out to start up the ShopBot for the president, Obama went around to all the students in the Fab Lab and shook hands with each and every one of them. He would ask what they were doing, how they were doing it, what they thought of the lab and even helping one of the students with one of the geometric problems they were working on. That was cool.

It just goes to show that no one is immune to the addictiveness and creativity that is harnessed in the Fab Lab, not even the president himself. I am pretty sure that we did Neil Gershenfeld and all the other Fab Labs proud that day.

I was expecting the president to be more serious and the visit to be more formal. Instead he came in to the room energetic, happy, friendly, charismatic, and curious. It reminded me of the excitement when Santa Clause enters a room full of young children. Although he was only in the room for a short time. He spent time talking individually to almost everyone. He went around the entire room to see what the 10th grade Early College geometry students were working on and ask them questions. He joked, commented on their responses, and offered encouragement. He was very down-to-earth and easy to talk to. Before we knew it, the president had to leave to attend the Town Meeting in the Field house. He left behind a buzz of excitement and stories to tell.

Friday, January 22 started out the same as any other day, with the exception that I was going to meet the most powerful man in the country, or rather, in the world. Looking back at yesterday's events, I'm surprised I wasn't nearly as nervous as I thought I might have been. I guess I just couldn't grasp the fact that President Obama was coming to LCCC’s Fab Lab.
Once on campus and through security, it was a normal day in the lab. Students visiting from a high school were learning geometry by constructing three-dimensional boxes on our two Epilog lasers, and everyone was discussing how to build the best box or helping one another. All of a sudden I saw several people enter the room and I heard "Sorry to interrupt you guys…." I recognized that voice from somewhere. It was President Barack Obama! I took me a second to put together in my mind what was happening, I was surprised to see the President in the Fab Lab, even after preparing the lab for so many hours in the days preceding.
Once he was in the Fab Lab, he stopped by a table to greet Desirae and Akil, two high school students who were working with me to design and create a rocking chair. He looked over our 1/6th scale prototype (made on the laser), and also checked out our first full-size model (built on the ShopBot). Next he went around our horseshoe-shaped computer table and spoke with each student about what they were learning and how they were going about their designs.
While he was doing this, Desirae, Akil, and I hurried out to the ShopBot to get it running in time for the President to see it. I was worried we wouldn't be able to start and warm up the machine in time; as I turned on the power to the spindle and started the warm-up sequence I had to ask the Press to step back from the machine and put on their safety glasses. Desirae powered up the dust collector as Akil manned the emergency stop button. Finally the machine was ready to make another rocking chair.
After viewing the main part of the Fab Lab, President Obama glanced out the soundproof window overlooking the Shopbot with a look of curiosity on his face. The Press snapped away pictures. Moments later he appeared walking through the door and approached us at the ShopBot. He shook each of our hands and asked us our names. "Wow," he said in an impressed tone, "so you just tell the computer what you want to make, and this machine will make it happen?"
At that moment, as he watched the machine trace the profile of the chair, I realized that our little lab was much more significant than I had ever imagined, we actually impressed the President of the United States!
Just before he left our lab, Desirae asked the President "Can I get a high-five?" He said "Sure!" with a smile on his face as their hands met, followed by a fist bump. That was probably the coolest thing I’ve seen a president do. It made me feel like he identified with us and was more on our level. He said goodbye to us and walked to his limo parked in the loading bay at the back of the lab. In a few seconds the three of us were all that was left of the mob of important people, Press, and security that had been swarming around. We were all still pretty stoked about what had just happened and we recapped our memories of the event with each other until their class started packing up their things to leave. That was surely a day that none of us will ever forget.

-Noah Rasor