A few items across the desk lately:
Printeer, a 3D printer for kids
Currently a kickstarter campaign is underway for the Printeer, a 3D printer with name, looks, and ipad app to appeal to kids. The company sees schools as their primary market and have already worked with California elementary schools.
Google launches Made with Code to make STEM more attractive to girls
Made with Code is aimed at 13+ girls and gives them an easy way to code/create a 3D bracelet that Made with Code then prints and sends them (for free). Girls (or boys, one would think) use Blockly programming language to set the width, diameter, color, and message of the bracelet.
15 year old to start business recycling 3D print filament
Also tied to a potential kickstarter campaign, teenager Grayson Galisky wants to start a business recycling the plastic resin used in 3D printers (via 3Dprint). Research shows that waste plastic is a good source material for 3D print filament (the “ink” of the 3D printer) because it takes less energy than fully recycling the plastic into new products.
Common sense suggests that the “kid wonder” stories we’ve read about youngsters developing apps or online businesses is set to be repeated with kids’ businesses around 3D printing.
First Scottish library gets 3D printer to engage children
Dundee library central library is using their 3D printer to engage children and special needs audiences. The library is currently printing out characters from Carla Diana’s book Leo the Maker Prince, which are used in storytelling sessions.
From left: Susan Gerrard, co-facilitator James Keegans, Donna Sorie, Margaret McKay, group facilitator Nicky Welch and Grahame Lapham with the book and characters created using the 3D printer at Central Library. Photo DC Thomson from The Courier
This library story supports the case we made in previous blog post “5 ways to get little hands on STEM kit without buying it.”
What are your experiences of kids and 3D printing? Let us know in the comments. We have a 3D printing title in the works!
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