Well, our Prusa and Huxley are

Cool Stuff Collective is ITV’s “Gadget Show for Kids”, and we were lucky enough to be asked to demonstrate 3D Printing technology for the “Future Tech” slot of today’s episode.

Each episode is filmed at a different Primary School, so earlier this month we found ourselves trundling off to Edlesborough Primary School near Dunstable with our RepRap paraphernalia in tow. Prusa had survived the journey no problem and soon we were set up and printing in the “green room”; the most difficult part of the morning was deciding which colour plastic would show up best on the TV.

It hadn’t ever occurred to me before, despite the amount of TV I watch, just how intricate the craft of producing a TV show is. All the different disciplines that have to come together to make it a success – researching the topics, writing the show, finding the likes of us, co-ordinating with the schools for venues, preparing the kids, preparing the presenters, presenting, doing all the lighting, sound, filming, editing and everything else that went on plus the stuff that I missed. I definitely had the easy job, what with just having to remove the object and press “restart” every time a print finished.

People’s reactions to 3D printing never get dull, and everyone was fascinated. The kids came up with some really amazing questions for the show, ranging from comparisons with other manufacturing technologies and tools to the environmental impact of the plastics and technology, and every time we demonstrate our printer at least one person as an interesting new application according to their interests – this time the camera man wanted parts to repair his camera rigs. Ian Hughes, the resident geek at Cool Stuff Collective, did a great job at explaining how it all works and answering the questions, and you can hear his thoughts on the show and things 3D printed at his blog.

It was a real treat to be involved in the day, so a big thanks to everyone involved!