Primary school children designing and creating objects using CAD (computer-aided design) and a 3D printer—it's possible thanks to the 3D Printing Challenge!
Fourteen elementary school classes from first to fifth grade participated in this year's 3D Printing Challenge in France. Organized as part ofEIT Manufacturing, this challenge aims to promote science and technology among young people. It is organized by the Irish company Stryker, University College Dublin (UCD), the University of Tartu (Estonia), and Arts et Métiers.
An engineering approach
Supervised by their teacher, the children were invited to adopt an engineering approach, i.e., identify a problem and find a solution, create a prototype from recycled materials, and finally design it using Tinkercad software and print it in 3D. They then made a video in which they recounted their journey. The competition, organized by Arts et Métiers, aims to raise awareness among primary school pupils in three European countries (France, Estonia, and Ireland) of the impact of innovative technologies on improving our well-being.
This year's theme, "Repair or improve an object in your classroom, school, or home," inspired them to come up with ideas for repairing a tape dispenser, a pen, or a pencil sharpener, or even creating a bike block or a palette for storing paintbrushes.
18 school teachers trained
As part of this challenge, Imade Koutiri, head of the FabLab and third-year Additive Manufacturing expert at the Paris campus, and Fabien Viprey, head of the FabLab at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Cluny, trained 18 new school teachers in 3D object design and printing.
The videos were viewed by the French jury in December.
Who are the big winners of the 2022 edition?
The Pierre Loti school, with teachers Marc Lelandais and Charles Chauchoy from classes CM2B and CM2A, are the big winners of the 2022 edition of the 3D Printing Challenge in the Design and Learning category!
Design
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"The All-in-One Paint Palette": Marc Lelandais - Pierre Loti School in Bourg-la-Reine - CM2B class
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"The Scotch Cylinder": Isabelle Grigoriou - Foch 2 School in Villemonble - Third Grade Class
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"The Insect Hotel" Walid Koutiri - Eugénie Cotton School, Tremblay, France - First grade class
Apprenticeship
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"The DATF": Charles Chauchoy - Pierre Loti School in Bourg-la-Reine - CM2A class
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"The Bike Block": Oriane Marre - Château des Rentiers School, Paris 13th arrondissement - Third grade class
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"The Ray Blocker": Eric Buisson - Jean de la Fontaine School, Sancé - Third and fourth grade class
The various winners had the opportunity to share their videos with their Estonian and Irish peers during a European feedback session!
A third edition in 2023!
The success of this second edition convinced EIT Manufacturing, the project's funder, and its partners to continue the adventure in 2023 with the theme of the circular economy.
Key points to remember
- 18 elementary school teachers trained in CAD and 3D printing in Paris and Cluny in 2022
- 2,200 students involved in the project this year across the three countries
