It’s Engineers Week!

This week is all about engineering as we explore the many contributions this field and the people in it have made to improving our world.

Science, math, and technological literacy help us engage in engineering and solve problems to help those around us. So let’s learn more about these fields and see how we can contribute with 3Doodler tools as an early introduction to 3D printing, creative problem-solving, and breaking down how things work.

Change Makers

Engineer’s Week began in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) to highlight engineers’ critical role in society. The week coincides with President George Washington’s birthday, as he is often described as America’s first engineer. But engineers go much further back in history, and their contributions are vast.

Look around you and imagine for a moment all the things in your life that engineers have played a part in creating. The list is endless. Engineers have contributed many ways to improve lives, from electricity to the telephone, cars, airplanes, and computers.

Meeting an engineer is one way to help demystify the field and learn more about what engineers do. DiscoverE, the organization that sponsors Engineers Week, hosts monthly Chats with Change Makers to speak with a real-life engineer and learn about a new field. Explore past episodes or join the next one live to learn more about technology fields.

Creating the Future

In addition to meeting engineers, young people can explore the various engineering disciplines at school or home with easy-to-follow lessons. This week we’re sharing a few challenging and fun engineering lessons to build and test designs in 3D.

The engineering design process offers a way of thinking that you can apply to solve a problem. Each step provides new information about the situation and encourages you to think critically about how you might solve it. Engineers often repeat the process to come up with the best possible solution. Working as a team, you can share ideas and find new perspectives by involving others.

The Engineer Girl offers a simple way to think about the engineering design process. It’s also a great place to start exploring careers in engineering and learning more about the field.

Design Like an Engineer

Working with friends has never been better as students explore STEM-focused design challenges that span sports, architecture, and design. These 3Doodler lesson plans will inspire critical thinking and opportunities to apply the engineering design process.

Grade K-2: STEM Doodle Hockey

STEMDoodleHockey with 3D pen art: Plastic construction on table.

Time to hit the ice! Students will design a template and doodle the best hockey stick in this exciting lesson about design and function. When they’re ready, it will be time to test their hockey sticks out on the ice to see which stick can shoot a puck the farthest and with the most accuracy through a goal. Game on!

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Grade 3-5: STEM Doodle Engineering Challenge

Toy ladder & gun on floor, 3D pen art

With just a few materials, students will be challenged to build the tallest tower. Students will work together and use critical thinking skills to make predictions, record observations, and analyze their structures. It’s a lesson in design thinking they be talking about for weeks to come!

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Grade 6-8: STEAM Design Challenge

Orange chair with purple trims created using 3D pen art

Using their 3Doodler 3D pens, students will attempt to create a functional chair under intense time constraints and with just a few materials. Will they be up to the challenge? Time will tell!

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Engineers Week is an invitation to celebrate problem-solving and find ways to make the world a better place. Share how engineering inspires you #3Doodler #WhatWillYouCreate.

Real-World Application with STEM Lessons in 3D!

Boost STEM learning outcomes by using 3D pens to design prototypes and engage students in real-world thinking.

With 3D printed models, students are able to observe characteristics of objects that can be more challenging to comprehend through 2D worksheets or textbooks. For example, students can create models of cells, atoms or historical buildings that would otherwise be inaccessible in a classroom. By creating and examining models hands-on, non-visual learners gain accessibility to educational concepts that would otherwise be out of reach. With 3D printing pens, students gain confidence in STEM subjects by exploring real-world topics in 3D with direct application, engaging in creative thinking and open ended problem-solving.

3Doodler offers an extensive library of resources to educators and we’re sharing our top STEM lesson plans for the in-person, remote, or hybrid learning settings for the 2020-21 school year.

Colorful kite 3D drawing

Geometric Collage Maker

Recommended grades: K-2
Learn about: Geometric shapes, how to calculate area and perimeter
Overview:  In this lesson, students create a Doodled collage of geometric shapes, resulting in crayon rubbings used to calculate the area and perimeter of combined shapes.

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Geometry & Tessellations

Recommended grades: 3-5
Learn about: Geometric shapes and problem solving through design
Overview: Students will design a simple tessellation for a 3D shape such as a cube, a cylinder, or a cone using 2D templates. Students will enjoy seeing their designs come together in 3D, and will even be able to use it as a functional item, such as a pen holder!

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Construct a 3Doodler City

Recommended grades: 6-8
Learn about: City planning, geometry, area and perimeter calculations
Overview: Students will identify the structures that make up a city (e.g. roads, buildings, bridges), and then analyze the way in which these structures are composed of lines and geometric shapes. Students will design 2D shapes and then Doodle over them to construct their own 3D structures. This real-world, hands-on project combines math, problem solving, and technology.

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3D pen art: Close-up of cell and phone on table

Prokaryotic & Eukaryotic Cells

Recommended grades: 9-12
Learn about: Biology, cell structure, prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells
Overview: In this activity, students will Doodle two cell models, one of a prokaryotic cell, and one of a eukaryotic cell. The students will build all parts in each model such as the nucleus, plasma, cytoplasm, mitochondrion, etc. The students will analyze and record the differences and similarities between the two cells.

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See our full collection of 3Doodler Lesson Plans

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How do you incorporate hands-on STEM learning in your classroom or home learning environment? Our community of parents and teachers want to know. Share your thoughts with us on social media, and be sure to tag us!

@3Doodler #3Doodler #3DoodlerEDU #WhatWillYouCreate