4th Grade Design Thinking Challenge with a 3D Printer

It all started a few weeks ago when I was in a meeting with the 4th grade teachers and they were sharing a new part of the curriculum with me.  Boat design, was new to them and they wanted my input as to what materials could work and how we might be able to integrate technology. That got me thinking and before I knew it I was thinking about the 3D printer and if we could somehow integrate it.

After doing a little research I found a few time lapse videos and this video that I would use to introduce the students to design thinking and 3D printers. 

My first lesson with the students was a conversation about design thinking and boat building. My goal was to get them thinking like a designer and come up with a list of key words. Here is a picture from one of our lessons. 

Once the introduction lessons were finished I turned things over to the classroom teachers and our Maker Ed teacher Andrew Carle (@tieandjeans). Not only does he get to play with coolest toys, he is also amazing with the kids. He was able to fit the project into his already busy schedule and the kids were eager to get started. Before long the 4th graders worked with the Mr. Carle and his students a couple times and soon they were printing boats. 

All in all the project was a success and the kids learned a ton about boat design, design thinking, 3d printing, communication, collaboration, and much more. 

Here is my lesson plan for the project.