{"id":31628,"date":"2017-06-05T17:22:36","date_gmt":"2017-06-05T21:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=31628"},"modified":"2017-06-09T12:55:07","modified_gmt":"2017-06-09T16:55:07","slug":"k-12-students-design-miniature-golf-courses-creative-steam-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/k-12-students-design-miniature-golf-courses-creative-steam-challenge","title":{"rendered":"K\u201312 Students Design Miniature Golf Courses for a Creative STEAM Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

3D modeling can seem\u00a0daunting to the uninitiated,\u00a0but it’s not as inaccessible as you may think. I’ve taught CAD modeling for 3D printing to students of all ages, mainly through a nonprofit after-school STEAM program in New York City,\u00a0Dimension Learning<\/a>. We’re software-agnostic and use 3D printing as a tool to teach students design thinking and incorporate humanities into STEM. Students progress from neophytes to accomplished designers in weeks.<\/p>\n

Every May,\u00a0Dimension Learning\u00a0enters a citywide K-12 competition called\u00a0Creative Challenge in 3D Printing<\/a>\u00a0(CC3DP). The brainchild of\u00a0Yvonne Shortt, executive director of RPGA Studio<\/a>, CC3DP brings a new challenge each year, from making\u00a0puzzles to\u00a03D printed boardgames.<\/p>\n

This year\u00a0students\u00a0designed a one-hole \u201cmini mini golf\u201d course that\u00a0fits on a 8″ x 20″\u00a0wooden platform. They made obstacles, traps, walls, and a\u00a0putter, and they could use water and sand, like on a\u00a0real golf course. But any objects taller than \u215b” had to be 3D printed.\u00a0For teams without access to 3D printers, Shapeways offered a budget of $500 per school to cover\u00a0prototyping and final prints, and 3DHubs offered a discount.<\/p>\n

After a short lunch, students presented their golf courses to a\u00a0panel of judges. As\u00a0a coach, I wasn’t allowed to watch\u00a0students defending their masterpieces, but\u00a0their professionalism impressed judges like Core77<\/a> assistant editor\u00a0Emily Engle (don’t miss their full coverage of the event<\/a>). \u201cJudging was equal parts exciting and\u00a0heartbreaking after seeing how invested the kids were in their designs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The students from my class at the YMYWHA of Inwood & Washington Heights<\/a>\u00a0broke into two teams, each with their own golf course. Team Oompa Loompas made a course called Candy Land that featured chocolate-bar walls printed in PolyWood<\/a>\u00a0filament on my\u00a0Dremel 3D20<\/a>. The marshmallow\u00a0star checkpoints were printed in PLA on the Dremel.<\/p>\n

The other team\u2019s course is based on the popular video game character Kirby<\/a>.\u00a0Everything they designed was\u00a0printed on Dimension Learning’s FlashForge Dreamer<\/a>, including the multicolor prints.<\/p>\n

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Under construction<\/p><\/div>\n

My\u00a03rd and 4th graders spent only a few weeks designing\u00a0the golf courses, and they\u00a0were nervous to be\u00a0competing against older students, some of whom may have been working on this all year. Once they arrived at CC3DP, however, they were exuberant.<\/p>\n

The competition was fierce. While we didn’t win any prizes, I believe the experience was very valuable for these kids.<\/p>\n\n\t\t