High Schoolers Are Using 3-D Printers to Make Face Shields to Help Healthcare Workers
Teenagers from a private high school in Washington D.C., have started making PPE with 3D printers, according to the Associated Press. In late March, Georgetown Day School senior Jonah Docter-Loeb decided to start making face shields at home with his 3D printer. He had been watching news coverage showing how personal protective equipment for health workers was in short supply because of the coronavirus pandemic. After finding an open source design for a full face shield. his idea has turned into Print to Protect, a network of “makers” that use 3D printers in their own homes. The group has made 3,000 shields so far and wants to print 10,000 by the end of April.
Emily Scarrow, a junior at the private school, says the group helped her with feelings of “helplessness and isolation” because of stay-at-home orders. Twice a week, volunteer drivers get the printed materials and deliver them to a communal space where headbands and plastic sheets area attached. One of those drivers, Georgetown Day junior William Olsen, says, “I have a car and I have a bunch of free time. I’m privileged and this is the least I can do.”