[3D Printing Applications] Unleash Your Brainpower! A Summer Camp Combining 3D Printing with Math!

[3D Printing Applications] Unleash Your Brainpower! A Summer Camp Combining 3D Printing with Math!

Dr. Tony and his 4th and 5th grade students discovered the joy of math summer camp through 3D printing . Sometimes, to keep the children interested in the course content, it's necessary to go outdoors—that's the essence of math summer camp.
Dr. Tony partnered with the local school district to lead a group of math-potential 4th and 5th graders in a bootcamp. The program comprised four main projects, combining 3D printing , LEGO robotics, hands-on activities, and personalized instruction. The camp was open from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and included breakfast, lunch, and transportation.



If students would be groaning in despair if they had to do math problems during summer vacation, then summer camp is a completely different story! First, they change their titles and clothes to make everything easier. They also play math-related games (Uno, War, and Mancala) in the morning, followed by a half-hour break; you won't see textbooks or worksheets here; the focus is on "making math fun and integrated into life."
The students were fascinated by the 3D printer , and Dr. Tony recruited the most energetic and engaging teachers from her experience to teach at the camp, also arranging fun lessons that allowed the children to use the software freely. She used TinkerCad to inspire the students, and the online TinkerCad software also offered free modeling tutorials. After completing the tutorials, the students were challenged to create a medal for the camp. Each student designed their own medal, reflecting their unique ideas and personality. They quickly grasped the importance of combining facets in modeling, and that printing failures were also a crucial part of the learning process.



The greatest benefit of experiencing failed prints or struggling to design prototypes is that the learning and struggle phase of development stimulates students to think and grow, thereby learning to find solutions.

When students are able to solve problems by persisting and trying different techniques, these methods create a "competition for effectiveness." This is far better than focusing on finding the "right answer." Dr. Tony told his students, "When you enter the workforce, there are no textbooks for you to consult and which provide the right answers." Real-life problems are messy and poorly defined; it's difficult to judge whether the outcome is right or wrong before you make a decision and try it.



The advantage of 3D printing is its low cost of failure, allowing students to continuously modify their work and correct errors. For students, this method is more understandable and realistic than a pile of red-circled test papers telling them where they went wrong, or a computer calculating their score based on how many questions they answered correctly.
Once students have grasped the basics, the teacher can further excite them by combining 3D printing and Minecraft ! They create a world, first by creating creatures using graph paper, then by manipulating blocks—and finally by designing in 3D. Ultimately, students can upload their characters to the world and stream them while simultaneously printing scaled-down prototypes. To further connect this to mathematics, the teacher teaches them about points, lines, and planes, and asks them to use this code in their drawing and block creation.



Once the miniature models were printed, students were encouraged to create other items, such as hot tubs and playgrounds. They were also asked to calculate the amount of space each character occupied, using manipulator blocks created in the prototypes to understand the cubic units of measurement they applied to the designs.
Through this project, students will gain a deep understanding of the differences between geometric shapes, surface area, volume, and perimeter, and a clear concept of planes, vertices, and X and Y coordinates. In addition to experiencing the technology of building models and printing them in 3D , they will also be able to see the printer running continuously the next day.



The students were reluctant to leave at the end of the two-week summer camp and hoped it would continue throughout the school year. Special thanks to the Lucille B. DuPont Foundation for their generous funding, which enabled them to provide enriching after-school programs . While many options are being considered, 3D printing will definitely be an important part of the plans. We admire the hard work of the teachers, administrators, and students who participated in the camp, and we find the idea of ​​bringing Ultimaker 3D printing into the classroom and beyond very interesting and practical. More and more educational institutions are now adopting 3D printers , and we hope to soon see examples of their application in Taiwan.

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Original link: https://ultimaker.com/en/blog/52712-math-camp-having-fun-doing-stuff