The Pre-Health Organ Extraction Board Exhibit (PHOEBE) was built by Mines
students, faculty and staff as a tool for STEM outreach and engagement. PHOEBE
will get its first public display at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 2 during the
STEMinist Day on the Mines campus.
A multidisciplinary group of South Dakota Mines students, faculty and
staff have created a life-size game of “operation” for use in STEM-based
outreach events. The Pre-Health Organ Extraction Board Exhibit, also known as
PHOEBE, includes an electrical system that buzzes if the participant fails to
extract the 3D printed organ properly. The game is facilitated by members of
the Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) program and Pre-Health Pathways
at Mines.
Mines students designed and built the operation game
from scratch. They 3D printed the organs and plastic containers they sit in.
They used a CNC machine to cut out the organ openings and wired the electronics
for the entire system. Mines staff member, Brian Hill, did the artwork and
graphic design. Johnica Morrow, Ph.D., who is the former Pre-Health Pathways advisor at Mines, led the project.
“This was a fun and exciting project, but it took a
lot of work to coordinate,” Morrow says. “We went through several iterations
before settling on the final design of the board and even changed our plans as
new people joined the team, bringing with them new (and better) ideas for the
final product. Between the pandemic hitting during key stages of the project
and students graduating before it could be completed, we really struggled to
pull things together, but it all worked out in the end! I am grateful for
everyone who contributed to this project and proud of the final product that
our team created.”
Kevin Barz, the past president of the 3D Print Club
at Mines and a graduate student in materials science, was instrumental in the
success of the project. “Ultimately this was a very fun project to work on and
I am glad to see it completed and in a functional state. I am really glad that
Dr. Morrow liked the final state of the project so much and I think that it
will also be a great resume builder for the 3D Print Club members who were
involved,” says Barz.
Jillian Linder, a junior biomedical engineering
major at Mines, was one member of the student team that built PHOEBE. Linder
says the project got her involved with the campus 3D print club, and she gained
an understanding of the design and team building through the process. “I hope
this project shows that taking time to learn what you are interested in is
important part of growing your own knowledge. These kinds of team projects make
us better scientists and engineers,” says Linder.
PHOEBE will get its first public display at 1:30
p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 2 during the STEMinist Day on the Mines campus. Members
of Mines WiSE program will be on hand with PHOEBE for attendees to try out. The
STEMinist Day event, hosted by WiSE, Hardrocker Athletics and Halliburton, is
for all girls in grades 3-8 who will take part in a fun day of STEM activities,
free food and a volleyball match up between the Lady Hardrockers and Regis
University.