Step 1: Activity Plan

This video takes the educator through the basics of Tinkercad. You will learn about designing simple solids (ex. cubes, tetrahedrons), and combining them together to produce a complex object

Step 2: Follow-up to the Activity

Connecting 3D modeling in Tinkercad with STEAM

3D design tools enable us to visually and tangibly experiment with a variety of mathematical concepts. To give you a sense of what this looks like in practice, here are a few concepts you might explore with young people using 3D design:

Reason with shapes and their attributes .For example, using Tinkercad, "Can you create three different objects with the defining attributes of a cube?"
Reason with shapes and their attributes . For example, using Tinkercad, "Can you create a sphere that is 1/2 red and 1/2 blue?"
Reason with shapes and their attributes. For example, using Tinkercad, "Can you partition a shape into four equal parts, making each quarter a different color?"
Represent and interpret data . For example, have students take measurements of a real-world object (a simple shape like a tissue box is a good start) and then create a 3D model of the object in Tinkercad using the measured dimensions.
Develop understanding of fractions as numbers. For example, use a 3D printer to create the Beast Belly Fraction Game . In this game, users will use 3d printed tokens that represent various fractions to "fill the beast's belly" by creating a perfect 1 whole.
Geometric measurement: understand concepts of angle and measure angles. For example, in Tinkercad, "Can you rotate an object by 120 degrees?"
Geometric measurement: understand concepts of volume

Other ideas for STEAM projects, related to physics, for example, that you can run using tinkercad are the following: