Oak School fourth graders study simple machines, but this year, the project took a new and exciting turn. One of the experiments students traditionally complete to learn about the inclined plane is rolling a toy car down a ramp made of wooden pieces and recording how far the car travels when the angle of the plane changes. Oak Media Resource Center (MRC) Director Mary Morgan Ryan and fourth grade teacher Robin Ingstrup discussed how the project could be modified to incorporate 3D printing.
To change the inclined plane lesson, students designed their wedge using web-based software, still allowing them to control the length and the height of the wedge to develop their own plane. Morgan Ryan credits Ridgeway Burns, Manager of Youth and Young Adult Services at the Hinsdale Public Library for his support in making the project a reality. They determined that the design tools from 3dtin.com had the needed features to create the wedges. After printing a sample wedge, the team was ready for students to begin the process themselves.
“Students worked in partners,” Morgan Ryan explains. “They debated the merits of choosing certain dimensions in their designs, and made decisions together.” After completing their wedge designs, families were invited to watch the 3D printing in progress at the library. Students traveled there together on May 6. Burns explained how the printer works and outlined some of the ways the library is putting it to use. Students then engaged in their experiments, launching their toy cars, recording the distance data, and graphing the results.
“We significantly changed the experiment using technology,” Morgan Ryan notes. “We gave students ownership of their inclined planes and used 3D printing to solidify their understanding of the science behind this project. Seeing, handling, and experimenting with their own wedges changed the learning experience from simply being given a tool for an experiment to creating their own scientific equipment.”
Morgan Ryan says the Oak staff looks forward to further collaboration with the Hinsdale Public Library to continue enhancing student learning.
