3-D Printer

Last week, our school received two 3-D printers for the students and staff to use.  We decided to put them to use this week by creating miniature versions of our Biography Bottles.  In case you are unfamiliar with what a 3-D printer can do, here is a little information about them.  When I say little, I mean little because I am still learning about them and the best ways to use them in the classroom.  A 3-D printer can take any three-dimensional object and create a replica of it sometimes actual size, and sometimes a scaled down version of it.  This is done by creating a digital scan of the object on an iPad and then downloading it onto software on the computer.  The software allows you to upload the 3-D image into a program called MakerBot and print it.  It is an amazing thing to watch happen.  The printer has reels of plastic that it constantly feeds into the printer and then melts it down and begins to layer it in the shape of the scanned in object.  Depending on the size of the object, this can take from a couple of minutes to many hours.  
     This week I taught the students how to scan in their Biography Bottles that we created earlier in the year on an iPad.  I then taught them how to upload the image into MakerBot and print their bottles.  The students loved the programming aspect of the printer as well as seeing the finished product.  Check out some before and after photos of the original and its 3-D printer version below.