Reads and Seeds: Week 6- Special Visitors!

Let's welcome Mrs. Kapp to the blog today! Since I wasn't able to attend, Mrs. Kapp graciously agreed to fill us in on everything that happened!

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Mrs. Delk is allowing me to guest post to her blog about this week's Reads and Seeds.  We missed her while she was away at training. Can you believe that we have already had 6 weeks of Reads and Seeds?

This week we hosted a very special guest, Justin Hoenke, from the 2nd Floor of the Chattanooga Public Library. He tweeted:

3D printing at Clifton Hills Elementary with @mrs_kapp and her students this morning! pic.twitter.com/c1e86jlnrV
— The 2nd Floor (@2ndfloorchatt) July 8, 2014

We learned that the plastic comes on a large spool and that is threaded into the printer. You have to select a file to print and send the file to the printer (this is very similar to printing on a regular printer).  The computer sends the selected file to the printer and the printer prints the object.  The amount of detail in a 3D printed object is amazing.  The amount of time that a print takes is dependent on the complexity of the design and the size of the object. The 3D printer that we were using only prints one color at a time.

After Justin shared the ins and outs of 3D, the kids were able to choose an object to print.  Justin created a great menu of items from thingiverse.com that could be printed in 15-20 minutes so that each participant could leave with a 3D printed object.  Go check out some of the amazing things that you can print.

Once the design was chosen, and the print was started, kids were able to choose from our available maker stations while they waited for their turn. Today, we offered weaving, legos, play dough, and mask making.  We recycled last week's green paper from the Photo Booth by turning it into a mural.

The kids were amazed by the printer and several watched and waited while their objects were being printed.  Justin stayed by the printer and answered questions about the process with with the students.   We are so grateful that he brought the printer to our school for us to use.

Here are some pictures from this week! We had Playdoh, looms, and masks for students to play with while waiting for their turn.

Here is a sampling of some of the things we printed today:

Photo courtesy of Jenny Wells

A bracelet!

If you are in the Chattanooga area, you can check out the 3D printer on the 2nd floor if you have a teen or tween.  Adults are welcome to print on the 4th floor.  You can find more information on the Public Library's website.

Thanks again General Delk for letting me write on your blog.  We look forward to seeing everyone for our last Reads and Seeds on July 29th.

Mrs. Kapp