Middle School Students Explore the World of 3D Printing

Students in John Yen’s “World’s Greatest Maker” Middle School block class immersed themselves in the world of 3D printing last week. Assistant Director of Extended and Summer Programs Kevin Austin brought in three 3D printers for students to witness their own design come to life through the high-tech but user-friendly machines.

Following a lecture on the future of 3D printing, including how it can be used to print houses at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional methods as well as printing rockets that can take us to Mars, students fired up the educational software Tinkercad to create symbols of their own design. Students experienced the speed and precision of the software and learned design and engineering basics.

Enthralled students peppered the discussion with questions including how 3D printing can lead to less waste and more sustainable building practices. Kevin Austin attributes PolySummer to bringing the technology to Poly’s campus and hopes we can expand our investment in these powerful machines in the future.