STEM Challenge: This International Cat Day, Curiosity Doesn’t Kill the Cat

"‘I know some good games we could play,’
said the cat.
‘I know some new tricks,’
said the cat in the hat.
‘a lot of good tricks.
I will show them to you.
your mother will not mind at all if I do.’"-Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat Share
We’re not kitten you.

We have what purr-haps may be the most fun and engaging STEM challenge of all time for International Cat Day, which takes place on August 8th.

And it is inspired by a famous fable featuring a funny and furry feline… The Cat in the Hat, written by none other than Dr. Seuss.

How about that!

Cat in the Hat STEM Challenge

Materials


Share the goal: How tall can you make the cat’s hat?

  • Doodle the Hat: Doodle circles and lines together in layers of red and white for your hat
  • You can use the circle on your DoodlePad as a stencil, and the grid to Doodle lines for assembling the circles to make your hat.
  • Engineer the tallest hat you can without it toppling over
  • STEM learners can compete against each other, either in teams or one-on-one

Steps

  • Ready, Set… Ensure the participants have the pens and the filaments ready
  • Go! Have the participants start at the same time
  • Avoid Cat-astrophe! Carefully engineer each layer to ensure it stands strong
  • Make Hiss-tory! Share the winning cat hat on Twitter! #3Doodler @3Doodler

Critical Thinking Tip: If your Doodled Cat Hat falls, assess the structure of it to see where the design can be improved.

We can’t wait to see your STEM cat hats!

Do you love this festive STEM activity?

Please let us know by giving us a shout out on social media. We will cherish your feedback fur-ever!

@3Doodler #3Doodler #3DoodlerEDU

Posted in EDU

Notable Doodlers: Painting Reality with Frida Kahlo

Picture Mexico City, 1907.

A baby girl was born with the name of Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón, or Frida Kahlo for short.

  • Frida Kahlo painting 3d pen inspiration
  • Frida Kahlo painting 3d pen inspiration
  • Frida Kahlo painting 3d pen inspiration
  • Frida Kahlo painting 3d pen inspiration

This child would go on to be one of the most influential female artists of all time, and her endurance would be an inspiration to the world for ages to come.

"They thought I was a surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality."-Frida Kahlo Share

Frida Kahlo’s paintings largely draw on Mexican culture and the unfiltered human experience. Art historians often describe her work as being influenced by surrealism, or sometimes magical realism. Her life is a testament to creativity, and how art is a powerful tool of catharsis through the journey of life.

Frida faced unique challenges from a very young age, being diagnosed with polio as a child, and then having the misfortune of being in a bus accident at the age of 18. These events caused her a whirlwind of physical and emotional pain, in addition to medical challenges and dozens of operations throughout her life. During her recovery process she took up her childhood pastime of painting, even though she was in a body cast.

Frida found freedom through art, channeling the challenges of human experience into pure creativity. She spent the majority of her life painting, drawing, and sketching. She is most well known for her self-portraits, which comprise 55 of her 143 paintings.

"I paint self-portraits because I am the person I know best. I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other considerations."-Frida Kahlo Share

Frida Kahlo has become one of the most renowned painters in human history, being the first Mexican artist to have a painting sell past the million dollar mark. Her self-portrait titled Roots was sold for over 5.5 million dollars at Sotheby’s in 2006, and another titled Two Nudes in the Forest (The Earth Itself) sold for 8 million dollars in 2016.

  • Frida Kahlo painting 3d pen inspiration
  • Frida Kahlo painting 3d pen inspiration
  • Frida Kahlo painting 3d pen inspiration
  • Frida Kahlo painting 3d pen inspiration
  • Frida Kahlo painting 3d pen inspiration
  • Frida Kahlo painting 3d pen inspiration
  • Frida Kahlo painting 3d pen inspiration

A rare occurrence for artists, Frida Kahlo achieved celebrity status during her lifetime. Little did anyone know her reach would extend to the edges of the planet shortly after her death at age 47. Frida’s creative vision, perseverance, and strength will go on to inspire and empower women, artists and dreamers across the face of the earth. The deep and rich expressions woven within her paintings will continue to influence global art culture for aeons to come, and her legacy will encourage humans walking the journey of life to find freedom through art, no matter the circumstances.

Are you inspired by Frida Kahlo? Let us know how she has influenced your life on Twitter!
@3Doodler #3Doodler

Doodling to the Moon and Back: Honoring 50 Years Since Apollo 11

Saturday marks that special day exactly half a century ago when Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins made history. They were the first human beings to ever set foot on the moon.

On July 16th, 1969, the world was filled with excitement as Apollo 11 launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After a 76 hour journey, the shuttle entered into orbit around the moon. On July 20th, the craft known as “Eagle” made its way to the lunar surface, and Neil Armstrong famously radioed to Mission Control in Houston, stating that “[t]he Eagle has landed.”
"“Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”"-Plaque left on the moon by Apollo 11 astronauts Share

And you may wonder, why did Armstrong reference “the Eagle”?

Since the United States was the first country to make it to the moon, “Eagle” was the name given to the lunar module that landed on the surface, a reference to the national bird of the USA. In addition, Apollo 11 had a famous mission patch that featured a bald eagle holding an olive branch, which is a symbol for peace. On the patch, the eagle is depicted as landing on the moon with the earth peeking out of space in the background. Few know that it was actually Michael Collins, one of the three astronauts on the mission, that created the design for this patch!
"“That’s one small step for man, a giant leap for mankind.”"-Neil Armstrong Share

To add some celestial flare to your celebration, you can create your very own Doodled mission patch. All you need is this stencil, the plastics below, and a large safety pin to Doodle onto the back of your badge.


Start Plastics
Black
Blue
Yellow
Brown
White
Green

Create+ Plastics
Black
Blue
Gold
Brown
White
Green

Be sure to check NASA’s comprehensive event page to see what’s happening in your area commemorating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

We can’t wait to see your out-of-this-world Doodles on Twitter! Be sure to share them with us.

@3Doodler #3Doodler

Space is truly the final frontier.
Doodle to the moon and back with our 3Doodler Create+ Pens!

Bring the Summer Reading List to Life with 3Doodler

How can you excite young minds about their summer reading list?

3Doodler has the perfect project to captivate K-12 readers.

Just share the easy steps below so they can bring their favorite character to the third dimension.

3Doodler Summer Reading Design Challenge:

    • Read a book from your summer reading list.
    • Choose a character from the story that you want to bring to life.
    • Integrate three characteristics of the character’s personality into the design.
    • Next, plan your design. Brainstorm how your figure will look, and how you will include the three characteristics. Sketch a draft to help you visualize the outcome.
    • Lift the character off of the page!

 

Check out our printable Figure Stencil which is the perfect template for your Doodle, or feel free to create your own.

If you have the 3Doodler Start, the Figurine Activity Kit will help you easily create an opposable figure.

 

 

Here is a Doodled character from a well known book series. Can you guess who it is? It was created with our free, printable Figure Stencil. Just use the stencil as the template, and add the characteristics of your choice!

Ask your parent or teacher to share your Doodle on social media!

We can’t wait to see all of the Summer Reading Doodles. Tag @3Doodler and share them on twitter, instagram, or facebook.

@3Doodler #SummerReading #WhatWillYouCreate

Posted in EDU