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Bed-Stuy Students Use 3D-Printing to Learn About Gentrification

By Camille Bautista | January 28, 2015 4:19pm
 Students with Brooklyn community organization DIVAS for Social Justice took first place for presentation at the annual FIRST Lego League Brooklyn Qualifier with their project on gentrification. 
Students with Brooklyn community organization DIVAS for Social Justice took first place for presentation at the annual FIRST Lego League Brooklyn Qualifier with their project on gentrification. 
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Facebook/DIVAS for Social Justice

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A group of local students is tackling a big issue with tiny toy blocks.

The robotics team from the nonprofit DIVAS For Social Justice — which stands for Digital Interactive Visuals Arts Sciences — took first place for presentation at last weekend’s FIRST Lego League Brooklyn qualifier by addressing the topic of gentrification with 3D-printed brownstones and a series of skits.

During the competition, the six kids built and programmed their own Lego robots to complete a sequence of challenges and used technology to display learning in the 21st century.

After discussing Bed-Stuy’s gentrification at the DIVAS’ STEAM summer camp, participants wanted to further explore the issue using science, technology, engineering, arts and math, said Clarisa James, the group’s executive director.

“We decided as an organization that this is an issue the neighborhood is facing,” James said. “We want to talk to kids about it. We want to know if they even notice and are aware.”

Students ranging from ages 9 to 13 replicated brownstones with 3D-printers and learned data visualization using statistics from Brooklyn’s Community Board 3. The participants also interviewed local nonprofits and Assemblywoman Annette Robinson to learn about affordable housing and financial literacy.

Prior to the project, the kids noticed the changes in their neighborhoods but were unaware of the significance, James said. As the assignment progressed, students became conscious of gentrification’s impact on their lives.

“One of our girls came in and said her family had to move out of their brownstone because of the increase in rent,” James said. “Another boy in the program said he noticed homeless people on his block who got pushed out because of changes in housing.”

“The 6 Robo-Rebels” team showcased an interactive map of Bed-Stuy at Sunday’s competition. The project displayed where kids lived in the neighborhood and used Lego pieces and models to provide a solution to displacement and community engagement.

Where there would have been an abandoned lot, students created a community garden or affordable housing. To improve relations in the area, kids placed a mini 3D-printed community table to encourage conversations during neighborhood block parties.

The group also performed television skits in front of judges in a presentation called “Changing Channels, Changing Communities.” The team, comprised of five girls and one boy, acted in sketches that mimicked familiar occurences: a 20-year-old restaurant losing its space to a German-Japanese fusion spot, a family kicked out by its landlord and a resident losing an apartment despite paying rent on time. 

“We wanted young people to be able to tell their own stories, with an emphasis on underserved communities,” James said. “These kids came up with it all on their own.”

The six Robo-Rebels will continue to the New York State qualifier at the Jacob Javitz Center on March 14.