UMN makerspace manager uses 3D printing to support community during Operation Metro Surge

Dylan Petersen
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 23:10:53 +0000
Profiles

When whistles were needed on campus, Steven Bleau was the one who could make them for all.

Steven Bleau, a makerspace lab manager for the University of Minnesota Libraries, won’t take full credit for making the thousands of whistles students needed on campus and beyond during Operation Metro Surge, but peers say he was an integral part of the effort.

Bleau manages makerspaces in both the Health Sciences Education Center and the Toaster, where students and community members have access to tools like 3D printers. During the surge, those spaces became part of a collaborative effort to produce thousands of 3D-printed safety whistles for communities across the Twin Cities.

“I wasn’t the only one,” Bleau said. “A lot of people in the libraries noticed there was a need for whistles. We just shared files until we figured out what worked and printed out a bunch.”

But colleagues say Bleau’s attention to detail and ability to innovate kept everything running smoothly during the operation. With access to multiple 3D printers, the group was able to scale production quickly. At one point, they produced nearly 1,000 whistles per day over several weeks.

Trial and error at the start

Bleau said one of the biggest challenges was ensuring the whistles were effective during a heated moment when demand was high.

“We were trying to figure out what designs worked best while also producing as many as we could,” he said. “It was a lot of trial and error at the start.”

The whistles were distributed through campus libraries, events and community networks. Many were given to individuals and organizations who then passed them along in their own neighborhoods.

“We were giving them away so people in their own communities could distribute them however they needed,” Bleau said.

Kimberlie Moock, a coworker in the University Libraries, said Bleau is detail-oriented and innovative with his work and personal life.

Moock. “He’s also good-natured and very technologically skilled,” Moock said

Always fixing something

In the makerspace, having someone who can manage both people and technology shows up in big and small ways.

“He’s always fixing something,” another coworker Emerson Ironstone said. “Whether that’s literally repairing equipment, improving workshops or creating new processes to keep the space safe and clean.”

Ironstone said what stands out most is Bleau’s constant curiosity.

“Every time we talk, he’s learning something new,” Ironstone said. “He’s always finding ways to expand what the makerspace can do, and it shows students that with some resourcefulness, you really can do anything in that space.”

That curiosity carries over outside of work.

“He’s kind of a foodie,” Ironstone said. “He’s always recommending new restaurants to me.”

Bleau also spends time taking photos, using his camera to capture his product designs as well as moments from trips and everyday life around the Twin Cities. He said photography gives him another way to explore creativity outside of the makerspace.

Bleau, who studied product design as an undergraduate and is now pursuing a master’s degree in robotics, brings a wide range of experience into the makerspace. His background spans design, development and engineering, allowing him to approach projects from both a creative and technical perspective.

After starting in engineering, Bleau shifted into product design at the University of Minnesota, where he later founded and led product development for his own Telo Design. That experience led him to expand his skills even further, completing a development program before continuing into robotics.

That path has allowed him to work across industries ranging from startups to nonprofits, shaping his approach to problem-solving in the makerspace.

Tools and collaboration

Bleau said the whistle project reflected a broader response across Minneapolis during the surge. Living in Northeast Minneapolis, he saw the impact firsthand.

“You could feel it in the whole community,” Bleau said. “A lot of people rallied to help each other, whether that was 3D printing whistles or people helping out in their neighborhoods. It definitely disrupted daily life, and it was very visible.”

For Bleau, the effort showed how access to tools and collaboration can quickly turn into meaningful community action and transform campus resources into support when it is needed most.

While the whistles were widely distributed, Bleau said the goal was less about tracking results and more about meeting an immediate need.

“It was just a matter of getting them out there to organizations and people who needed them,” he said.

Bleau said the issues highlighted during Operation Metro Surge are ongoing, even as public attention shifts.

“Stuff like this has been happening before Metro Surge and will continue after,” he said. “Even when attention fades, the people who are most vulnerable are still affected.”