Students at Willmar Middle School recently engaged in a hands-on learning experience centered around 3D printing. Led by Chad Kallstrom, a STEM educator, the initiative allowed students to transform their creative ideas into tangible objects. Kallstrom secured a $16,000 grant from Doosan Bobcat, which funded the acquisition of two new 3D printers and the necessary materials.<\/p>\n
Since the unit began in February, students were encouraged to design and create items they deemed useful. Seventh-grader Jaxon Fitting shared his project, a new keyboard stand he designed after his original broke. "I created a stand for my keyboard," he explained.<\/p>\n
The process required students to navigate through the engineering design method, beginning with brainstorming their concepts. "We followed a process called the engineering design process where the first step is to ask questions about what you’re going to create and how you are going to do it," noted eighth-grader Liam Thole. He created a stand for his remote-controlled car, highlighting the need to keep the car’s tires from becoming flat.<\/p>\n
Each student modeled their creations digitally, ensuring precision in measurements to ensure accurate printing. "Sometimes there are faults in the system where there was either an incorrect measurement or sizing," Thole added, explaining the iterative nature of design.<\/p>\n
The project culminated in a display at the Willmar Education and Arts Center, showcasing the students\u2019 innovative designs. Kallstrom expressed his hopes that students gained valuable knowledge and experience in 3D printing, emphasizing the significance of being able to bring their unique ideas to life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Students at Willmar Middle School recently engaged in a hands-on learning experience centered around 3D printing. Led by Chad Kallstrom, a STEM educator, the initiative allowed students to transform their creative ideas into tangible objects. Kallstrom secured a $16,000 grant from Doosan Bobcat, which funded the acquisition of two new 3D printers and the necessary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1649,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n