3D Modeling and Printing Training, Bicycle Helmets, and Gold Rush Tools

We recently had four 3D modeling and printing trainings in our district to build interest and expertise around manufacturing and design. We had over 80 teachers, technicians, librarians, and parents throughout the district participate! The trainings were facilitated by myself and Sam Patterson, Technology Integration Specialist at Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School.

During the training, we focused on using TinkerCAD and the Polar 3D Cloud. You can view resources from our training by: Clicking Here We also encouraged teachers to think about a project that they are currently working on and how they can incorporate 3D modeling and design. I also created several screencasts that teachers could use with their own classes to get started with 3D modeling:
As a follow-up, two of the classrooms that I've recently worked with are Anne Stephano's 2nd grade class and Brian Tamekuni's 4th grade class. The second graders had been learning about bicycle safety, so we had them use TinkerCAD to create a bicycle helmet. This was the first time that I had used TinkerCAD with second graders, but it went really well since we did the tutorials together as a whole class. Students also had to explain to us why they added specific features and how it helped to make the helmet safer.
Brian's 4th graders were just starting to learn about the California Gold Rush, so we had the students design a gold rush tool. We introduced concepts like scaling, creating holes, grouping, and duplicating shapes to create tools that were realistic. One of my favorite tools was the pick, since students had to problem solve to figure out how to create the curved metal head. The student below even designed a gold nugget!

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