3D Mini City Project and More

Here’s a great story from Kristen Smeal, Middle School Technology (Grades 6-8) teacher at the Academy of Alameda:

“What a fun year! We were able to purchase 3D printers for our Technology program and they provided so many fun opportunities. I had students who were not even in my classes stop by just to look at the printers. It was really cute!

I thought I’d send along a photo of the 3D mini city ‘Olympianville’ we made in Advanced Technology class. We brainstormed what a city would need to be a functioning city. The students decided schools, a hospital, houses, and importantly a soccer stadium would be needed. They were assigned a building from our brainstorm and then did research about styles and types of buildings. They even had to submit a mock building permit and learn how to compose a proper email to the Mayor of Olympianville to follow up. They used a CAD program and learned the slicer software to print the models. Next year, I am partnering with our History teacher to dive deeper into the environmental impacts of a city (and data centers) and learn how we can create a climate-friendly place for everyone to live. Additionally, we used the 3D printers for an entrepreneurial project between our Tech and Algebra classes, something the Algebra teacher and I are developing more for next year.

Part of our grant also funded the making of cardboard pinball machines, then taking students to the Pacific Pinball Museum, which they loved. Some of them returned on their own over Winter Break, so it was nice to hear of this local business being supported beyond our research.

We were able to purchase supplies for some cross-grade level collaboration with Kindergarten, combining Tech and ELA, and we will expand on this partnership next year.

Thanks again to AEF for helping fund our program, it truly made a difference!”