What isn't taught in Washington schools: Today So Far

• Seattle teens are 3D printing these at home.
• There's an effort to expand K-12 history classes in Washington state.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for June 9, 2023.

If you could, what would you 3D print? There are a lot of things to choose from. It could be as simple as a keychain or a bottle opener, or as fun as an RC plane or a guitar. I know a local couple who 3D printed their own Iron Man suits. The home technology has opened up a whole new level of crafting, but local teens have discovered that they can also 3D print guns.

KUOW's Ashley Hiruko reports that these types of guns are increasingly showing up in the city. SPD confiscated 16 homemade firearms in 2020, 31 in 2021, and 66 in 2022. These weapons do not have serial numbers on them and therefore count as ghost guns. In many cases, they are made with a combo of actual gun parts and 3D printed parts to fill in the gaps. In one case, police suspect a part was 3D printed to convert a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic handgun.

I have to admit that it's not entirely surprising to me that folks got the idea to 3D print their own guns. What is perhaps shocking are the ages of the folks involved in local incidents that police are coming by — a 13-year-old SeaTac kid, a 14-year-old in Burien, a 15-year-old in Des Moines. For the full story on this, read here.

These days, more and more folks are hearing about what the United States government did to Japanese-American citizens during WWII. Bainbridge Island has a memorial for it. I have a graphic novel about it. There's a musical about it. In 1988, President Reagan officially apologized for it. Or you found out because you paid attention during "Karate Kid."

If you're like me, you came by this information as an adult. But growing up around here, you weren't likely to hear in any local-history class about how Bainbridge Island was the first community where soldiers were sent to remove people from their homes and load families onto boats. You didn't hear about "Camp Harmony" in Puyallup where folks were sent (today we call it the fairgrounds) before being shipped off to camps in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. This history wasn't brought up in school.

Mercer Island resident Judy Kusakabe was born at the Puyallup fairgrounds. At 80 years old, she's part of a national effort called “Make Us Visible.” The goal is to get Asian American and Pacific Islander history into K-12 schools as part of the official curriculum. Kusakabe isn't waiting. She travels to local schools and tells students about where she was born and spent the first few years of her life. KUOW's Sami West has the full story here.

The Friday Five: News you may have missed this week, and other cool stuff on KUOW.org

• Book bans are on the rise. Biden is naming a point person to address that
• Unhoused and out of sight on King County's Eastside
• GM's electric vehicles will gain access to Tesla's charging network
• What can be done to prevent further gun violence in or near Seattle schools?
• Dockworkers slow down at West Coast ports amid ongoing labor dispute

AS SEEN ON KUOW

A row of RVs and cars line the side of a road in Kirkland on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Some people experiencing homelessness in King County often try to stay hidden to avoid dealing with police. Outreach workers say that also means these people aren't being connected to support services. (Casey Martin / KUOW)

DID YOU KNOW?

Washington state has an official "state amphibian" — pseudacris regilla, aka the Pacific chorus frog.

As is the story with most of Washington's "official state" something or other, cute school kids were behind the idea. In this case, a third grade class at Boston Harbor Grade School in Olympia. They made an official proposal to the state Legislature. Their teacher incorporated science, art, and writing into the whole effort. In 2007, state leaders adopted the frog as the official state amphibian. ​

This particular frog lives throughout Washington state (and the Northwest in general) in a variety of habitats. These are the little 2-inch frogs you've likely seen hopping around parks and backyards. Or you've at least heard their classic calls of "ribbit," "crek-ek," or even "Rainier...Rainier beer."

OK, maybe not that last one.

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

4 things to think about when it comes to the politics of Trump's indictment

That a former president is facing federal charges would be a big deal unto itself. It has never happened in this country before. But add to that, charges dropping while said former president is running — and leading — in the primary to get his old job back, and you have something truly unusual and extraordinary. Only in Donald Trump's America.

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