Printing from the Heart

3D printing continues to positively impact the world, helping to create affordable prosthetics and advanced designs in manufacturing, promoting coral reef growth, preserving archeological artifacts and much more. As part of our continuing STEM curriculum, Mrs. Phelp’s First Grade Computer Class was challenged to design and 3D print a Mother’s Day charm. The students were introduced to 3D printing technology and had the opportunity to examine a real-life example of a replacement part printed for a camera tripod. Mrs. Phelps discussed the use of 3D printing by the Arkansas Archeological Survey, which is part of the University of Arkansas system. The students had the opportunity to touch and hold one of the 3D printed artifacts from a file sent to us from the Arkansas Archeological Survey. We would like to thank the @ArkansasArcheologicalSurvey for sharing their work with our students to inspire their curiosity and learning. To learn more about the Arkansas Archeological Survey, visit https://archeology.uark.edu/3d/ The students designed their charms with pencil and paper then proceeded to recreate their designs on the computer using a software program called Pixie. The resulting files were processed through Dremel 3D slicer software, printed and proudly worn by the students to demonstrate their gift to their moms.