This winter, my son’s teacher asked me: can we introduce 3D printing to these middle schoolers? I had recently acquired my own printer and was excited to share with others.

She wanted to explore the concept of monuments throughout history. Many rulers have created monuments to commemorate themselves. For instance, the pharaohs of Egypt built pyramids as their final resting places, while the rulers of Rome erected statues and monuments like the Column of Constantine, which stands tall in the modern era. We also have monuments like the Washington Monument in Washington D.C., which honors our first president after his passing.

She asked her students, “What would a monument look like for you? How would it represent your identity?”

Roman Emperor Constantine built this huge monument to himself which I visited in Istanbul.

The students began by writing reflection essays about the most meaningful aspects of their lives. Some wrote about their sports interests, while others focused on their families. One student who arrived this year from South America chose an airplane to represent his journey. Others chose sports they practiced or abstract concepts like injustice to represent their monuments.

The project was open-ended, allowing the students to express themselves while reflecting on the types of monuments in history.

They had two options for creating their monuments: they could use papier-mâché to craft a physical monument or they could use 3D modeling software and print one. That’s where I came in to help.

Modeling their monuments

We utilized the TinkerCad system, an incredible fully web-based software compatible with Chromebooks. It enables relatively easy to mid-level 3-D modeling. The system includes a variety of built-in models and characters that students can use to represent themselves in different features. They can perform basic operations like moving, scaling, and skill-up. Some students even figured out how to import external STL files, although the most interesting ones often have too many polygons for the web to support.

Examples of student monuments - a person holding meaningful objects, the scales of justice, and even a dragon.

The best part is that there’s no need to save, send, or download files. Students enroll by using a class code, and as the teacher and I, the co-teacher, we can simply access their files and download them. While this may seem like a minor detail, especially if you’re accustomed to using Google Docs, it becomes quite challenging to find systems that support this type of workflow smoothly once you move beyond basic writing. Therefore, I was grateful to sign up for Tinker Cad.

Once students completed their modeling, I opened the models from my desktop and worked to print them out.

Models may need to be separated into different components so they can print correctly, even with support, as in this case

This is where it sometimes took some work. athem home and printed their models. However, I had to do some boxing in to ensure they worked properly. I also had to deal with reorientation and provide support materials. I often scaled down the prints to reduce the printing time from about an hour or two to around 67 hours. Some students wanted more complex, articulated chains, while others had multiple pieces that needed to fit together.

One technique I found particularly helpful was the Tinker Cat feature that allows you to create holes in one piece so that it can slot together with another piece. This is much better than trying to print support materials to support the entire object.

STudents had a great time painting their models.

The dragon turned out really well!

The printer itself was a fun experience. They mostly printed with white material, and then the students painted their models.

Students shared their classroom projects

It’s not without its issues…

I’m trying to fix a clogged nozzle while kids ask for their prints

This experience has generated demand from other grade levels for modeling and printing opportunities. I’m genuinely surprised by how effortlessly students as young as second grade can create a basic 3D model using Tinkercad. Compared to other systems like Blender, which are often challenging, Tinkercad makes 3D modeling accessible and enjoyable. This newfound ease of thinking ahead for next year is truly remarkable.

Just this week, I brought the 3D printer to school to demonstrate its functionality and captivate the students. Unlike a 2D printer, they were thoroughly intrigued by the 3D printer. However, printing a single student subject takes a considerable amount of time, making it challenging to provide immediate satisfaction within a single class. Therefore, it’s more effective to distribute the printing across a larger group.

So you’re ready to try this in your own classroom?

Keep these lessons in mind for your own classroom 3D printing activity:

• Get a Bambu. Bambu Labs is the leading printer on the market today. I researched several models, including the Prusas, but I agree with Shop Nation video recommendation to go with Bambu Labs for future purchases. As he points out, “it just works”. Bambu offers a range of models, from the starter A1 as low as $429 up to the X1 Carbon for $1,299 - the higher price means more bells and whistles but both have a reputation for quality.

• Make it Personal. I was surprised by how engaged students were in making something that was personally meaningful. You can build fairly simple, yet meaningful art pieces. Other teachers have recommended variants such as this Personal Crest Project as well.

• Use TinkerCad Classroom. Students can work on their own pieces. TinkerCad is easy to learn but powerful enough for more advanced use cases (like articulated dragons.

Over the past few years, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with the school to introduce technology through the robotics team. I’ve hosted a coding club and provided support to classes whenever they seek to incorporate technology into their classroom experiences. It’s a blast helping kids learn about what’s possible in the world and I can’t wait to help more teachers incorporate 3D printing into the class.