The Amazing, Incredible 3D Printer!

By Janet Pinto, Chief Academic Officer, Curriki

I had a chance to talk with Christine Mytko, a middle school science teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area, who is experimenting with 3D printers as an extracurricular activity with her students.

Teacher Christine Mytko

What exactly is a 3D printer?

A 3D printer is a form of manufacturing that takes three-dimensional image files and “prints” them into physical objects using a variety of materials, typically plastic. Our printer uses ABS filament, which is the same plastic Legos are made from.

You can watch this excellent TED talk to get a good overview of 3D printing.

How did you come to have a 3D printer in your school?

I’ve spent many years admiring Maker Bot and other 3D printers at the annual Maker Faire in San Mateo.  I was astounded by the idea of these “self-replicating machines.”  (They can print a set of new parts to create another machine.)  However, these printers were far outside my budget.  In the fall of 2011, I attended the NextGen Science Fair and met Brook Drumm and learned about his plans to create Printrbot, an affordable 3D printer that “can be assembled and printing in a couple of hours.” One of his goals is to get 3D printers into the hands of kids! We stayed in touch, and last December (2011), Brook visited our school and delivered our affordable and recently-purchased Printrbot!

In this video, Brook Drumm shares his new design for an affordable 3D printer, Printrbot, with our middle school classroom.

How are you using the 3D printer?

The 3D printer is dazzling in its potential! I am mostly amazed that I am having such technical conversations with 11 year olds!

Although we are currently using Printrbot as more of an extracurricular activity, I am excited about its potential for learning.  Unlike traditional curriculum, where there are clearly identified goals, an expected outcome, and logical steps to reach that outcome, the Printrbot offers an experience that more closely resembles learning in real life.  We have an idea of what we want, and have access to this excellent tool, but it will take a lot of tinkering and trial and error before we even begin to experience success.

We can use ready-made designs from Thingiverse, or design our own objects using the free programs Google SketchUp or Tinkercad. As long as the design can be exported to a .stl file, and is within the boundaries of the Printrbot, we should be able to print it!

What potential do you see for 3D printing with your students?

I have been most impressed with how the Printrbot inspires perseverance among the kids working with it.  These kids are willing to try and fail and try and fail again. However instead of becoming frustrated, they become more creative in their thinking and more motivated to find a solution.  If only I could harness this type of determination in learning core curriculum, such as math.  Instead, I too often hear students stop working and exclaim, “I don’t get it.”  Well, we don’t “get” the Printrbot yet either, but we are having a blast learning and won’t give up until we figure it out!

We’d love to hear your ideas for using 3D printing in the classroom. Please share below.