STEAM FAIR 2024
“To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.”
– Stephen Hawking
Call to Adventure
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to hold an entire distant solar system in your hands?… Yeah? Well, me too! Thanks to the rapidly developing technology called 3D printers, I can finally bring my imagination to life!
But this project doesn’t only involve the creation of something new, it was also about reimaging something old. My original orrery, a model of our solar system, had been a favourite of mine until it broke. Instead of simply replacing it, I saw an opportunity. Why not design my own, inspired by its predecessor but entirely unique?
My dream was to create a fun, interactive toy that could entertain me for hours, and what could be better than a solar system full of planets that spin? Being inspired by ROKR’s Mechanical Orrery 3D Wooden Puzzle, I put forth an adventure to build a smoother, more refined version of my own custom design.
But… only through hard work, countless hours, sleepless nights, and sheer determination could I achieve my aspiration. Along the way, I battled dumb design flaws, tore through failed prints, and…broke through many breakthroughs haha! All of which shaped the final design of my orrery!
My Journey
The quest to create my own entirely unique orrery was a treacherous journey, riddled with challenges and obstacles—all set up by my greatest enemy… drumroll please… myself!
Research
But, to absolutely no one’s surprise (except maybe mine), the internet wasn’t exactly giving me the best of help. Sure, it helped me find the orbital periods of the planets I was modelling, but when I came to actual instruction on designing, making, and building an orrery? Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
With this, I turned to the best source of inspiration I had, my old orrery. By studying its mechanics, I pieced together ideas, borrowing design elements while adding my own artistic touch. Bit by bit, my idea design started to take form.
Mathematics
Now, with that, I started to concentrate my focus on mathematical calculations. After all, I want this thing to be *accurate* as well.
With the right guidance from teachers, parents, and outside sources alike, I learned to calculate gear ratios. This enabled me to tackle the harder math and to find the mysterious set of numbers that defined my entire project: “The How-Many-Gear-Teeth-Should-Be-On-Each-Gear Numbers.”
Here is the Excel Sheet that has the set of numbers I found and used:
Each gear had to meticulously have the right number of teeth to maintain proportional motion, so I had to tread the fragile, thin line of precision vs practicality. Too few teeth, and the planets would spin too fast. Too many, and the gears wouldn’t fit properly.
After many, many agonizingly painful calculations and experiments (and also a few moments of questioning my life choices), I finally had a working set of numbers.
With the math locked in, it was time to finally build it!
3D Modeling
But before I could interact with it in the physical world, I had to first build it in the virtual realm. With the help of my longtime ally, Tinkercad, I constructed my 3D model, ensuring all the gears fit, on paper. While the modelling was straightforward, it was painstakingly time-consuming. On countless occasions, I had to redo my calculations to make the design more practical; therefore, I had to redesign everything again.
But when it came to assembling, I encountered… a major setback. Some of the part I printed were absolute trash. Why? Well, that’s because I messed up some parts of my 3D design. The result? Wasted filament, wasted time, and an almost crashing-out me.
Problems and Issues
Another thing to add to my Pile of Problems was the sizing issues with the gears, jammed gears, loose gears, and excessive friction.
Luckily, I had a way to counter this! Printing even more parts and applying silicone oil to smooth the rotations!
I’ve won, but at what cost? Buying even more filament of course! But my wallet wasn’t exactly full of gold…
But wait—there’s more! My setbacks didn’t stop there. To simplify my depressing list of issues, here’s a quick list:
Gluing the wrong parts together – Had to rip them apart and glue them back correctly. Painful.
Some parts were still clogged – Improvised by making the orrery spin from the top planets instead, reducing the intense torque.
The planet parts I printed at school didn’t fit well – Sanded them down until they finally fit.
But to clear the tear-filled tissue of issues, I had some moments of respite, small but significant victories. One of which was when I successfully created my passion board with barely any time before the test fair, working well into the night to get it done.
My Picture Portfolio of Printed Parts
The Day of the STEAM Fair
By the end of April and with all the struggles behind me, the moment had arrive, the Test STEAM Fair. I had just two weeks to make any final changes before the real fair, so I rushed to get my teacher’s feedback and reflect on my project.
My Passion Project Board in Powerpoint
Once the actual STEAM Fair finally arrived, I was ready. Armed with extra printed parts to enhance my project, I felt confident in myself. My friends and I took over the space in the conference room, carefully setting up our project boards and preparing the Tinkertable Station, where visitors could browse and buy our school-made souvenirs.
Beyond the conference room, the fair was alive with anticipation and with an electric buzz of excitement rippling through the air. Passion boards stood like magnificent towering walls, forming a maze for visitors to wander at their heart’s content. Teachers scoured around, making final checks, while students clustered together, chatting with explosive enthusiasm, setting an ambience of laughter and voices throughout the library.
Yet, within our conference room, detached from the festive energy of the library, we continued setting things up to perfect our projects.
When D block arrived, the first wave of students from grades 9 to 12 began to flood into the fair. Familiar faces appeared in the crowd, friends, classmates, and even teachers!
After approximately an hour, the fair settled into a momentary break as lunch rolled around. STEAM students slowly dispersed throughout the school, taking a well earned break from everything.
Meanwhile, I ventured to the cafeteria to buy food. That’s when I stumbled upon two familiar faces, the ladies working as cashiers. As I chatted with them, I mentioned the STEAM Fair, and immediately, glints of curiosity sparked in their eyes. They leaned in, eager to know more.
That’s when I decided to satisfy their curiosities; instead of just describing my project, I brought it to them. This gave them a chance to explode my orrery, sharing the joys of the STEAM Fair.
After we returned to the fair, the second wave of guests arrived—flooding into the library, crashing through exhibits, and weaving their way toward the conference room. My friends and I hurried into action, standing at our stations, ready to welcome our visitors all the way from Minnekhada to Kway Middle Schools.
But to our surprise and disappointment, some guests simply passed through without so much as a glance, slipping out of the fair as if we don’t exist. It wasn’t the reaction we had hoped for, but we weren’t about to let our hard work go unnoticed.
Determined to draw more attention, we swiftly adapted. With the help of additional volunteers outside of STEAM, we directed the stream of people toward our Tinkertable merchandise, giving them a reason to linger and explore. Slowly but surely, curious young minds started to gather, and we could finally make an impact.
After another hour of presentations, we were given two precious hours of free time/second lunch. During this time, a friend and I explored the commons and had fun playing the public piano to ease our boredom.
Two slices of pizza later, we returned to the fair with renewed vigour. The hardest part of the fair was approaching… the grand Open House event.
The library transformed into a packed arena of visitors. Senior guests, family members, and educators alike filled every corner. As we braced ourselves for the flood, my family arrived, offering support and contributing to the program by buying more souvenirs.
The atmosphere differed from the first two waves; it was less chaotic, but deeply engaging. The conversations became richer, filled with thoughtful inquiries and experienced minds eager to explore each exhibit. Within the crowd were district representatives, and to everyone’s surprise, even the superintendent herself stopped to see their fair in action.
In the end, I can confidently say that my project worked splendidly! And honestly? I worked splendidly too! I thought I would’ve collapsed by then, ha!
The planets rotated smoothly, gears meshing together with perfect harmony, creating a mesmerizing display of orbits. With each speech I spoke, I brought spectacular insight about my topic, wowing the guests with my work of art!
Reflection
From this experience, I learned to weave my thoughts and ideas into a well-spoken speech. Also, I’ve greatly expanded my knowledge in engineering, astronomy, and design, which are the primary elements of my project.
Next time, I plan to add a motor to rotate the planets to move on their own. Maybe even redesigning the model to include a display of time, and adding more artistic touches with the acrylic markers from the Drafting classroom.
