Digital DIY inside an hospital? Of course!

Excerpt of a Facebook post by Leonardo Zaccone of Roma Makers:

"People often ask me: is this 3D printing thing actually useful to somebody? My answer: it surely is, for children affected by leukemia! I would have never thought of this myself, but a courageous teacher who works in the in-hospital school of the Ematology Institute of the Policlinico Umberto I" hospital in Rome explained me that:"

"when their immunological defenses decrease, children can meet almost nobody, and everything they touch must be sterilized. This means that they can only follow school lessons and other activities remotely. And they cannot participate in practical, traditional "making" activities based on scissors, paint, paper, wood.. But with a 3D printer they can build what they want remotely, and use the result, because it is easy to sterilyze plastic".

This is why Roma Makers is working with the Policlinico to set up a "Solidal Fablab" that also supports Digital DIY. In practice, this fablab aims to:

• give new stimuli to children strongly disadvantaged from their sickness
• allow parents to learn new skills while they attend their children, and together with them
• help the doctors, who may use the Fablab to make their own job easier