Winter tech time with Mrs. DiVenuto and Mrs. Bowlus

Tinkercad is an easy-to-use 3D CAD design tool. After working through the tutorials in Project Ignite, an easy-to-use online app for makers, fifth and sixth grade students used Tinkercad to try their hands at designing. There were several projects to choose from, including making a ring (real gem not included), a keychain, a house, or a castle. Students then went on to create their own designs such as trains, creatures of various sorts, candy molds, name plates, variations of the Star Wars theme, jewelry boxes and skeletons, to name a few. Using Project Ignite again, the students worked through the tutorial “Getting Started with Electricity.” We then used littleBits which are small electronic building blocks that snap together with magnets, making it easy to invent things with sensors, fans, lights and more. Small groups worked on projects such as making an electronic bubble blower, a house with lights and a windmill that turned, animals with moving parts, signs that light up, and some funny faces, again with moveable parts. Everyone involved displayed their talents as designers and engineers of the future.