More and more educational and academic institutions are incorporating 3D printing into their teaching. This fosters children's 3D spatial thinking and logical concepts from a young age, and uses hands-on methods to allow children to find answers and solutions themselves. Today, let's look at some teaching examples from a high school in the Netherlands and incorporate them into our education!
Vathorst College: 3D Printing Integrated into Education
At Vathorst College in the Netherlands, 3D printing is offered as an elective course for students interested in learning about this technology. After assembling a 3D printer, students use it to print a water-powered bottle rocket. This project integrates 3D printing with the science and mathematics knowledge learned in daily studies. Let's take a look – there are also course materials below for your reference!
3D Printed Bottle Rocket Project
Over a period of 4-5 weeks, groups of students learn to build different parts of an Ultimaker 3D printer and assemble them. Afterwards, they start using the 3D printer to design and develop parts for their bottle rocket project. By offering 3D printing as an elective, participating students are more motivated and eager to learn more about 3D printing and design.
The bottle rocket project revolves around designing specific parts of the rocket. The shape of the fins and the sharpness of the nose cone both affect the rocket's flight, so careful evaluation is needed. After designing all the parts, the rocket is assembled and launched. This is a fun and integrated project with many opportunities to connect it with mathematics and science.
"The more the curriculum focuses on future technologies or applications, the easier it is for children to learn."
Curriculum Planning
The basic lesson plan on how to build a bottle rocket, written by 3Dkanjers, can be found here. As for pre-designed rocket parts, they can be downloaded here and can serve as an initial design for children to modify or optimize in class.
Within the broader context of this bottle rocket project, there are many applications that can be linked to subjects children learn in school. Here are two example exercises that can be used for science and mathematics lessons, but these exercises can also be extended to different areas of the students' curriculum.
Download Lesson Plan
According to Sara Seamari, a teacher at Vathorst College, focusing on future technologies or applications like 3D printing makes it easier for children to learn. The bottle rocket project is just one example of how 3D printing can be integrated into the educational curriculum and used to teach science and mathematics. Check out our exploration page for more examples of how 3D printing is used in secondary education.