Jack S.

Statement of interest, Spring 2023: Ever since I was very young I’ve been an extremely hands on learner. Since I was about eight years old I have been participating in various workshop and electronics classes over the summers, I’ve been building things like furniture for around my house since I was 9, and I built a laptop for myself when I was 10 at a summer camp after my parents wouldn’t let me buy one. Megan knows I have spent a good amount of my time this year in the WISRD room, either working on various school work, helping my friends who are already in WISRD with their projects as much as I can, or just socializing in the room as it is one of my favorite environments to be in at Wildwood. If accepted to WISRD, I hope to gain valuable knowledge about tools, 3D printing and electronics. As I said I have worked previously in environments similar to WISRD but It has been many years since i’ve been able to get back in a workshop due to COVID-19. This summer I will be starting automotive technician classes at SMC and I really hope to be able to use WISRD to create various vehicle modifications during my school year as I will not have time to continue my automotive education during the school year. I want to learn how to use the 3D printer which really interests me. I think I can use it to create various smaller pieces for whichever car I’m working on at the time(I am going to most likely be buying a 1985 Mercedes Benz 300TD off of my friend which I will immediately start to work on this summer ideally). I also think with help from Megan and other more experienced students I will be able to learn more about the various tools in the WISRD room and use them to my advantage.

Sustainable Biofabrication in Fashion, Art and Material Production 

Abstract:

In response to environmental concerns linked to plastic, synthetic materials, and pigments, the field of biofabrication has become a promising start towards a future of sustainable innovation. Using natural materials like algae, bacteria, fungi, and plants, biofabrication will help change industries like fashion, art, and all material production. This website presents a bioart project attempting to explore more sustainable ways to use biofabrication in these fields. Ultimately, our intention for the final product is to showcase the potential biofabrication holds in reducing environmental impact and to inspire greater adoption of sustainable practices in fashion, art, and materials production industries.


Introduction:

Our goal is to achieve a realistic process in which we can achieve the successful production of sustainable and biodegradable materials made of fungus. This is important because many of the materials we use in modern production ends up polluting various organic environments, such as our oceans, forrests, rivers and lakes. If we are successful in this we hope to decrease pollution.

Results:

We were able to successfully achieve our first goal, which was mushroom growth. With this being achieved we now know we are able to expand the size of this process next year in order to grow enough to start our next step in the project.

Goals for next year:

Getting closer to mastering our project so we can spent more time designing and building rather than researching.

Materials & Methods:

  • Colonized spawn substrate

  • Scalpel or sharp scissors

  • Spray bottle filled with water

  • Plastic wrap

  • Mushroom spores or mycelium culture

  • Sterile grain

  • Pressure cooker or autoclave

  • 99% isopropyl alcohol

  • Nitrile gloves

  • Face masks

  • Goggles 

  • Apron

  • Jar x2

  • Metal pot for boiling

  • Mixing spatula 

  • Trey/ Container