3. Making Droney

3 Making Droney The next morning, Mr. Cooper came running into class, tripped over somebody's backpack, and almost crashed into the garbage can. Mr. Cooper is no superhero. In fact, he's the opposite of a superhero. He got up and brushed himself off. "Okay, let's get started," said Mr.

Cooper. "We have a lot of ground to make up. Turn to page twenty-three in your math books." Ugh. I got out my math book. But you'll never believe who poked her head into the door at that moment. Nobody! Why would you poke your head into a door? Doors are made out of wood. I thought we went over that in Chapter Two. But you'll never believe who poked her head into the doorway. It was Miss Aker! "Hey kids!" she shouted. "It's Maker Movement time! Follow me!" Mr. Cooper slammed his math book shut, closed his eyes, and rubbed his forehead. Grown-ups are always rubbing their foreheads. If you ask me, they need to use moisturizer. "What are we going to make today, Miss Aker?" asked Andrea as we walked to the Fab Lab.

"Can we make more cupcake cars?" Ryan asked. "They were yummy." "We made cupcake cars yesterday," said Miss Aker. "Let's make something different today." The door to the Fab Lab was already open. And you'll never believe who was in there. It was Mrs. Yonkers, our computer teacher! "I have a donation for the Fab Lab," said Mrs. Yonkers as she plugged some weird-looking machine into an outlet. "Thank you!" said Miss Aker. "The teachers have been so generous." "What is it?" we all asked. "It's a 3D printer," explained Mrs. Yonkers. "Back in the olden days, you could only use a computer to print on paper. Now we can print objects." "Like what kind of objects?" asked Neil.

"Just about anything," replied Mrs. Yonkers. "You could make replacement parts for a broken toy. Or a statue. Or a doll. I thought you kids might be able to

come up with some fun ideas." 3D printing sounded cool. "Could you use a 3D printer to print out another 3D printer?" I asked. "It would be cool to print a printer on your printer." "I don't see why not," said Mrs. Yonkers. "Could we print a robot?" I suggested. Robots are cool. "That's a marvelous idea!" said Miss Aker. And you'll never believe who walked into the door at that moment. Nobody! People don't walk into doors.* But you'll never believe who walked into the doorway. It was Mr. Docker, our science teacher. "Did somebody say robot?" asked Mr. Docker. "I did," I said.

"I love robots!" said Mr. Docker and Mrs. Yonkers at the same time. We all agreed that making a robot on the 3D printer would be cool. "I have an idea," said Ryan. "Let's make a flying robot!" "I have an idea," said Neil. "Let's make a flying robot that can talk!" "I have an idea," said Andrea. "Let's make a flying, talking robot that's really smart!" "I have an idea," said Alexia. "Let's make a flying, talking robot that's really smart and can shoot marshmallows!" We had lots of ideas. Mr. Docker and Mrs. Yonkers used the computer to help us design a smart robot that could fly, talk, and shoot marshmallows. We all worked on it as a team. It took a long time. But I didn't mind, because we were getting out of math. When we were finished designing our