Students in the 3D Printing Club at Lawrence Technological University assemble parts created with a 3D printer. Members will be leading several workshops at the Hazel Park District Library this summer.
By: Andy Kozlowski | Madison-Park News | Published May 31, 2026
HAZEL PARK — The Hazel Park District Library is home to 3D printers that can create all sorts of items on request. The service that will be highlighted during special workshops planned for this year’s summer reading program.
This year’s program will run from June 16 to Aug. 7, featuring a variety of activities along the way, many themed around dinosaurs. The library is located at 123 E. Nine Mile Road.
Lena Vaynberg has taught mathematics at Lawrence Technological University for 15 years and serves as advisor to the school’s 3D Printing Club, alongside Jose Gonzalez. Her club members will be involved in the workshops at the library, even providing 3D-printed prizes for it, including Dummy 13s — articulated, poseable action figures that have become quite popular among makers.
“I used to bring a printer for the teen group at the library on Fridays; I would leave it there and let them print. I wanted to see how the kids would respond, and they loved it,” Vaynberg said. “It was so popular that now the library has multiple printers.”
She said that 3D printers use computer files freely available on the internet and that the printer follows a script to create solid items — or parts thereof — by layering together plastic filaments.
While consumer-grade 3D printers once took hours to complete a project, the high-end ones at the library today can craft items in a fraction of the time, and at minimal cost to users — just 50 cents per hour.
“I like (the library makerspace) because it’s so equitable,” Vaynberg said. “It makes this field so accessible to others.”
She noted the material used in the printers — polylactic acid, or PLA — features cornstarch as its primary ingredient, making it organic and safe with no harmful fumes.
The material is also easy to color with markers or crayons. During a demonstration at 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 7, elementary-age students will be able to color 3D-printed dinosaur figures and take them home at the end of the session.
For teen and adult patrons, there will be two workshops in July. At 3 p.m. Friday, July 24, members of LTU’s 3D Printing Club will teach patrons about using 3D printers to assemble figures. Then, at 2 p.m. Friday, July 31, the puppetry studio Alex Thomas and Friends will lead participants through the process of creating stop-motion animation skits using their figures.
The club has also prepared many 3D-printed Dummy 13s as prizes.
“We made a lot of Dummies. Many will be given away as gifts on top of the program,” Vaynberg said. “I hope to get the kids excited about printing at the library. Once they receive a Dummy as a gift, they can ask (a librarian) to help print them some props for it, like (toy) weapons or a skateboard or food. (The librarian) can find the files for it and get it printed in 20-25 minutes, most of which will be the printer warming up.”
Vaynberg marveled at how the 3D Printing Club has brought together students from so many disciplines at LTU.
“It’s multidisciplinary. We have people from all different degrees, like computer engineers who help program the figures to get them to move, and artists and architects that design the models to accommodate their programming, and (mechanical) engineers who create the parts that we use,” Vaynberg said. “You usually don’t experience that sort of collaboration in college. Usually, people live in their own little silos, sticking with others (in their degree). But this brings them together.”
Vaynberg also sees it as a form of public service.
“I love the sense of community, of connection — the exchange of ideas as we think up cool things to do and then use the expertise of all our students to help others,” Vaynberg said.
The workshops at the library are part of that effort.
“We want to develop this culture in the library, where people can learn these skill sets and even use that knowledge to earn a living,” Vaynberg said. “We want to inspire people.”
Amy Beem, a librarian at the Hazel Park District Library, said that patrons have really connected with the makerspace.
“In terms of the 3D printer, we’ve had more and more people noticing we’re constantly printing things, like prizes to put in eggs for an egg hunt. And it all started because of Lena. She is an amazing woman, a very sweet person, and we just love her to pieces,” Beem said. “She started bringing us all sorts of 3D-printed items to use in our program, and then when we got our printer, she taught us to use it, and even today we can call her in to fix things. Now, we teach patrons how to use it if they’re interested in learning, or we can just print things for them. It’s been amazing.”
For more information, call the Hazel Park District Library at (248) 546-4095.
2026 Hazel Park summer reading program
Starting June 16 at the Hazel Park District Library, 123 E. Nine Mile Road, patrons ages 0-12 can earn one “Book Buck” for each hour of reading (or being read to), redeemable for prizes such as Squishmallows, Harry Potter crochet kits, LEGOs, toy dinosaurs, sunglasses and more. There will also be bingo sheets, where each bingo earns a prize from the library’s treasure chest. There are also many programs planned for this year’s summer reading lineup. For additional events and information, visit hazel-park.lib.mi.us.
THIS YEAR’S LINEUP:
• Tuesday, June 16 (1 p.m.): Learn about dinosaurs at a presentation featuring live reptiles and amphibians.
• Tuesdays June 16, July 21, Aug. 18 (6-7:30 p.m.): Play the mobile game Pokémon Go in a raid at Rosie’s Park, 1111 E. Farnum Ave. in Madison Heights, and receive a free Pokémon card.
• Tuesday, June 23 (1 p.m., 2 p.m.): Learn about Michigan’s ancient past through hands-on activities such as fossil matching, paleo art, microscope analysis and more. Registration required.
• Tuesday, June 23 (6:30 p.m.): Explore stations for breaking open geodes, digging for fossils, finding fossils in frozen amber remains, and more.
• Tuesday, June 30 (1 p.m.): Play bingo and win books.
• Tuesday, July 7 (1 p.m.): For kids. Watch 3D printing demonstrations, paint dino figures.
• Tuesday, July 14 (1 p.m.): Revisit the “dino dig” stations from the June 23 event.
• Tuesday, July 14 (6:30 p.m.): Dance like dinosaurs at a concert by children’s performer Beverly the Music Lady.
• Tuesday, July 21 (1 p.m.): The Mad Slimicist will showcase her homemade “glow slime,” with a slime parlor, face painting, sensory garden and more.
• Friday, July 24 (3 p.m.): For teens and adults. Learn how to create articulated models for the stop-motion animation workshop July 31.
• Tuesday, July 28 (1 p.m.): Craft fossils with air-dry clay using your hands and feet.
• Tuesday, July 28 (6:30 p.m.): The University of Michigan’s Natural History Museum will bring touchable fossils in a hands-on workshop with take-home activities full of dino facts.
• Friday, July 31 (2 p.m.): For teens and adults. Learn how to create stop-motion animation with guidance from the puppetry studio Alex Thomas and Friends.
• Friday, Aug. 7 (5-7 p.m.): Ice cream social for summer reading participants at the library, with a bounce house, live music, and the reveal of the grand prize winners.