3D Printing for Language Development

You may have noticed—or even used—one of the 3D printers in the FabLab – our makerspace in Fant Memorial Library. Faculty, staff, and students can design and request items to print. We also offer guidance and tutorials to assist them in their creation process. This service comes at no cost them, so we encourage our W family to make use of our services.

Since we’ve made 3D printers a staple in Fant Library, students and employees have designed and requested items to be printed for curricular and co-curricular use. Some items of note have included cookie cutters, models of body parts and chemical bons, originally-designed buildings, and bookmarks. Recently, Jasmine Manasco, Assistant Professor in the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) department, submitted a print request for a hodgepodge of tiny objects: a guitar, a hammer, a shoe, a toothbrush, and keys.

As part of the SLP program, the Speech and Hearing Center provides therapeutic care to people of all ages, including young children. The items printed will be used to encourage language development. “These items will be utilized in our on-campus speech pathology clinic to help clients of all ages address their therapeutic goals. What is so great about the 3D possibilities available from the library is how versatile these items are. Some examples of ways we will utilize these items are with pediatric clients who are working on naming objects,” says Professor Manasco. Children learn mostly through play as it supports physical and mental activity. Playing offers an engaging and memorable experience that can contain educational lessons. The purpose of printing the guitar, hammer, shoe, toothbrush, and keys is to assist children with object identification. By incorporating the printed items in therapy and learning sessions, our faculty and students are providing interactive and instructive experiences for young people in our community. 

We are ecstatic that we were able to help with this project! Our campus clinics are a vital part of our community as they serve to keep us healthy and safe. We hope that this project acts as inspiration for future collaboration opportunities from other departments on campus. If you are interested in 3D printing items, please visit libguides.muw.edu/fablab/3Dprinting to access the request form. You can also contact the library to answer questions and provide assistance.