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What place do you think 3D printing has in a STEM curriculum? Does your school have a 3D printer? How might you use a 3D printer for your own use in the classroom?

Study finds natural compound can be used for 3-D printing of medical implants
Researchers have discovered that a naturally-occurring compound can be incorporated into three-dimensional (3-D) printing processes to create medical implants out of non-toxic polymers. The compound is riboflavin, which is better known as vitamin B2. “This opens the door to a much wider range of biocompatible implant materials, which can be used to develop customized implant designs using 3-D printing technology,” says Roger Narayan, senior author of a paper describing the work and a professor in the joint biomedical engineering department at NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill. The researchers in this study focused on a 3-D printing technique called two-photon polymerization, because this technique can be used to create small objects with detailed features – such as scaffolds for tissue engineering or other implantable drug-delivery devices.

That's pretty exciting news Pamela! I've been able to use a 3D printer and laser cutter with students over the last year. Actually being able to use create something from their designs has really changed the way students, and myself, think about things. Does anyone know of any statistics about the number of 3D printers in schools? I haven't been able to find anything.

Saw a news report last night about a young student and his father making a Prosthetic hand using a 3D printer. The largest cost was the printer but still much less than current prosthetics of a similar style. They were also able to play with design. Pretty cool, and a really powerful learning opportunity related STEM, specically engineering.

Glad you brought that up Erick. I love all of the inspiring stories about 3D printers helping people. A month long effort to create an open source, 3D printed prosthetic hand called #MakeTheWorld just ended. It was an amazing thing to watch unfold on Google+ and Adafruit.com

Watching this video of 3D printed 'Magic Arms' for a little girl still brings tears to my eyes watching it.

Good news on overcoming the cost hurdle of 3D printing in schools. It sounds like HP wants to revolutionize 3D printing by making it cheaper and easier.

For the engineering and chemistry teachers, here's a really interesting approach to making a 3D printer. It uses photopolymerization, just like this one from the University of Illinois (Saw at an NSTA conference). Pretty exciting stuff

For those of you new to the whole 3D printing, laser cutters, etc. (I was until a nearby high school built an amazing new lab two years ago) here's a collection of science related designs you could make if your school had a 3D printer or laser cutter. My personal favorites based on how unique are: Bonding Atoms Set (good for valence electron lessons) Adjustable Volume Straw Pipette Fully 3D printable Microscope Urban Personal Greenhouse Torsion Catapult

I wish I had a 3D printer in my Design and Engineering classroom. It would be so much easier to teach students about how Engineers create prototypes and models of their designs. We do not have a 3D printer, but the high school some of my students feed into does. It is so exciting for them to be able to create a piece for a project they are working on that doesn’t exist anywhere else. I am torn though whether the 3D printer or the CNC Shark machine would be a better fit for my middle school students. Overall I think the cost of the CNC Shark would be less and students would grasp enough of the concept that when they experienced the 3D printer at the next level, they would have a greater understanding and appreciation of what it does and how it works. The other advantage of having either of these tools would be the fact I could use them as fundraising tools to help offset the costs of my program from year to year. Thank you for sharing the link to the “Magic Arms,” this will be something I will share with my middle school students. The possibilities of technology in their lives is endless. What a hopeful world we live in.

I volunteer with a few retired engineers and can't say enough about how great it would have been to have 3D printers when they were going to school. They say it would have dramatically changed their careers.

MakerBot and DonorsChoose have teamed up with the lofty goal of putting 3D printers in as many schools as possible. Makerbot is also working on an 3D curriculum for teachers. Pretty exciting news. http://www.makerbot.com/academy/

For more on this topic, read "Teaching STEM in 3D" in the September 2013 issue of NSTA Reports, NSTA's monthly newspaper. http://www.nsta.org/docs/2013SeptemberReports.pdf

Adah, I've heard of more schools getting grants and donations to build Fabrication Labs. I put in a grant proposal for a Printrbot Simple 3D printer, only $300!

A colleague sent me this link from a presentation on 3D printing and 'Making' in the classroom. A lot of great resources and links.

I recently finished a unit where students used the site TinkerCad to create 3D models of their product. They picked it up fast and some really loved the program. They also liked the idea that they could order whatever them made from sites like or Shapeways

We are getting a 3D printer in my lab. I am hoping to use it to help kids make prototypes for our STEM fair. They can choose to invent something and the idea of making a prototype can be daunting (it does not have to work).I think a 3D printer will help energize some inventions!

Congrats Yelena! will you post what your students make? If you're still looking for ideas I've made a collection of science and math designs at http://www.thingiverse.com/Whampus/collections/math-and-science

If anyone teaches younger students and wants to introduce 3D printing, check out the book Leo the Maker Prince. You can even download the 3D model files from their website and print the objects at school (if you have a 3D printer :).

A Science teacher at my school wrote a Donors Choose grant and got a 3D printer for the Science Department. She was able to get the project funded quickly and received the printer in a short period of time after the funding became available. The students were really excited about the projects they were able to print from the materials provided with the printer. Matthew, I am really interested in the Tinkercad program to use with my middle school students. I tried to sign up for a free account, but am not having much luck. I will try again on a different computer. In the meantime, can you give me some ideas how you are using the program? How long did it take your students to be successful at creating their first project? I am curious what age level of students you are working with.

I teach high school, but i've heard of younger students having success with tinkercad. Here's a post about it being used with 3rd graders. There are some good tutorials on youtube.

I've had trouble with tinkercad before as well, reloading the page or logging in and out again usually solves the problems.

I had students design earbud headphone holders with tinkercad.

I'm working on a 3D printing/engineering unit i could share in a few weeks.

Congrats on the 3D printer and post back about what your students make and how it went.

This is all pretty amazing, and I'm looking forward to going to an inservice about 3-D printers in the science classroom.

I just got a 3D printer and will use it for our STEM fair where kids can invent ANYTHING (does not have to work). I am pretty psyched! I hope it is a cool as I think it will be- It is still not running - I am missing a part.

It's great to hear that more science teachers are getting 3D printers! Share what you're making. I've been finding great news articles and ideas from http://3dprintingindustry.com/ and http://www.3ders.org/ https://thre3d.com/ and http://www.makerbot.com/discover/ are great places to learn about the types of 3D printing, filaments, and much more.

I am planning a rocket design project for my 8th grade science students this June. Our technology teacher has a 3D printer and we are hoping that the fins/design that the kids create for their rockets can be made on the 3D printer rather than out of the traditional coated cardboard. They will last longer and allow the kids to be more precise in their design. I hope it works!

Thank you to all the contributors in this forum! Your enthusiasm and expertise is appreciated. If you live in the Colorado Springs Area - or would be interested in planning a short trip this summer, you may be interested in attending the STEM Bootcamp for Middle or High School educators!

STEM Bootcamp is a three-day, hands-on workshop that will introduce you to new and exciting STEM programs for your classroom. Participate in quality learning sessions from organizations such as MIT (6th-12th), Colorado School of Mines, 3D Printing, Colorado Springs Utilities, STEM Launch, US Air Force Academy Chemistry Department and more.

This is an amazing professional development opportunity where you will meet fantastic and energized educators! Alyce

This is the first time I have ever seen a book about 3D printing, told in story form that also allows you to print off the characters from a 3D printer. What an interesting concept. I am planning on using the book when I introduce students to 3D printing in my middle school Design and Engineering classes. The premise is, if you can draw it, you can print it. Of course creating 3D objects is not quite that easy, but it is a great starting point. I like the idea you are directed to Thingiverse, specifically Leo the Maker Prince characters. If you do a keyword search within the website, you will be able to find the characters. I have tried to include a link, but it will not work. Thingiverse as a resource is truly incredible, http://www.thingiverse.com/ The first couple of times I visited, all I could say was, “Wow.” My students discovered it late in the spring, right before school ended. There are quite a few complex creations, which take time to print. The amount of time is totally dependent on the type and speed of your 3D printer. My students want instant gratification, so they go for the quickie stuff. It is my goal to teach my students how to create their own program to run to print their own designs. Since I am new to the whole idea of 3D printing, does anyone have any suggestions for an easy to teach program?

I believe that 3D printers have a place in STEM education, and in our public schools. I have experience with them at the University level and at the middle school level. These devices help students experience what it is like to create something from beginning to end. A student can research a need or a possible application. Then they can work in a team to develop the part or solution to this problem. Through design and testing a group of students can carry this process to prototyping and final production via the 3D printer. As a result, the student will feel successful and the process in rewarded for their efforts.

WOW! Thank you to everyone who has shared their feedback on 3D printing. We just ordered a 3D printer and so all of these resources have me excited to give it a try with our students!

I've just gotten a Lulzbot 3D printer for my Elementary Science Lab (after a lot of research into what will be the best/most sustainable printer for the program) and my fourth grade students are currently working on a project to adapt an animal for new conditions and create a 3D printed model of their new creature to use in presenting to the class. My unit is based on this lesson . My students are using Tinkercad to design and it is a lot easier than they (and I) thought it would be!

From what i have seen 3D printers are trans-disciplinary tools for students, the only problem would be getting the funding to get one into the school.