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 3D Printing STEM Education

 

Engage, excite, and inspire students
through hands-on 3-D Printing experiences.

 
Middle school kid_white_3d printing_smaller.jpg

 What is 3D Printing?

3D Printing has been around for about 30 years, but the focus on it has skyrocketed in the last ten years. That has more to do with how the world has shifted to using more technology by the day.

What is 3D Printing anyway? Well, it’s the art of adding layers using heated glue and creating an object. It sounds simple, and its application is even simpler! A 3D printer helps in dispensing out liquid glue through which you can create different objects.

The other name for 3D Printing is additive manufacturing which uses a filament (another name for glue stick) for the layers.

Who Can Learn 3D Printing?

At NextWaveSTEM®, we offer 3D Printing STEM Education covering 3D Design, Development, and Technology courses for kids and professional development for teachers.

Grades K-2

Create & Construct: Early Engineering Adventures

Grades 3-5

Discovery of 3D Design:
Using Tinkercad

Introduce young learners to hands-on engineering principles and spatial reasoning through an exploration of 3D shapes, materials, size and scale, art, and prototyping with hands-on, fun activities made to engage and teach.

Tools/Software/Technical Requirements:

Playdough, Cardboard sheets and tubes, basic craft clay, recyclables (plastic bottles, paper tubes, etc.), simple measuring tools, templates for cutting, miscellaneous craft supplies, 3D Doodlers.

Optional: Tinkercad if desired

Beginner learners answer the questions, “What is Computer-Aided Design?” and “How does it work with 3D Printing?” Students will learn how to build and modify designs through Tinkercad and use Thingiverse to download items for print.

Tools/Software/Technical Requirements: Creality Ender 3 3D Printer®, filament, Tinkercad (free software download), Chromebooks, iPads, or PC/Mac computers

Grades 6-8

Exploration of 3D Development:
Using Tinkercad

Students answer questions such as, “What is the Engineering Design process?” and “How can I use it to design in 3D printing for a purpose?” In this course, students explore the applications, technical requirements, and limitations of 3D printing.

Tools/Software/Technical Requirements: Creality Ender 3 3D Printer®, filament, Tinkercad (free software download), Chromebooks, iPads, or PC/Mac computers

Grades 9-12

Creation and Evaluation of
3D Technology: For the Real World

In this STEM course designed for high schoolers, students will analyze the functions of a 3D printer and engage in the Engineering Design process to design and produce physical objects to solve real-world problems.

Tools/Software/Technical Requirements: Creality Ender 3 3D Printer®, filament, Tinkercad (free software download), Chromebooks, iPads, or PC/Mac computers

Why 3D Printing?

Why should we learn and teach 3-D printing? 3D printing technology has quickly evolved to be essential to many different fields of interest including medicine, art, construction, and more. In these courses, students will be given an opportunity to let their imagination shine using 3D technology to bring their ideas to life.

3-D printing is easy to teach! Learn below how you can bring 3-D printing to your school.

Read: Experiential Learning Through 3D Printing

 How Can I Bring 3D Printing to My School?

Anyone can teach 3D Printing! With all NextWaveSTEM® courses, Curriculum & LMS Access, Equipment Kits, and Student Connection Materials are included. The only thing left to decide is whether you want to teach the course or you want a NextWaveSTEM® certified mentor to teach.

Our All-In-One STEM curriculum, equipment and professional development make it easy for you to excite and inspire students through hands-on STEM experiences.

Perfect for schools needing:
- STEM equipment & curriculum
- Professional development

NWS sends trained teachers to your school, during or after school, or for summer programming. They bring the hands-on STEM curriculum, the equipment and the fun!

Perfect for schools needing:
- Schools needing STEM resources
- After-school or enrichment classes