What began with a few teens at one school has grown into a program that’s brought the magic of 3D printing to more than 200 young people coast to coast.
As soon as we launched our 3D ThinkLink pilot project at Maryland’s Freestate ChalleNGe Academy in early 2013, we started to see why it’s such a great teaching tool – especially for at-risk youth.
In more than two years of providing 3D design and printing classes, we’ve seen how the experience helps develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, encourages creativity and builds confidence.
Most of the students we work with have made decisions that led them down the wrong path and they see themselves as failures. Our classes help them understand that failure is not final; it’s just a step toward improvement and, ultimately, success. The software and hardware we use make it easy for them to try a project, analyze mistakes, make corrections and print again until they reach their goal.
Twenty-five Cadets from the Maryland, District of Columbia and South Carolina ChalleNGe Academies completed 3D ThinkLink training last month (see below), bringing our total of ChalleNGe Program grads so far to 111.
In March, more than 70 students from across the United States and Canada took part in our 3D printing workshops at the 41st Annual National Society of Black Engineers Convention in Anaheim, California.
This month, we’re reaching dozens of kids in Northern Virginia for the first time by working with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington to provide summer camp classes at the Culmore Character Club.
Another way we’re bringing 3D ThinkLink to more people is by making our curriculum available for teachers and students to buy online. On July 1, we wrapped up a crowdfunding project on Kickstarter that will cover the cost of creating the curriculum packages, which include Moment of Inspiration 3D modeling software, lesson plans and instructional videos.
Our goal is to give at-risk kids the tools they need to become successful adults. That includes academic and vocational training, along with developing the life skills that will keep them on track no matter what career path they choose. We don’t expect most our 3D ThinkLink students to end up in jobs that directly involve 3D design and printing, but we do expect the thinking skills and positive attitudes they develop in class will help them get ahead in any kind of job.
For example, there’s Adonis Gonzales, who was in our first class at Freestate. He always wanted to be a master electrician and now he’s in the second year of an apprenticeship program. In a recent interview with the Connection Newspapers, he talked about how he uses the problem solving skills he learned in our class to work through obstacles on the job.
Adonis also took our “failure is not final” message to heart. He didn’t pass his GED exam the first time he took it – or the second time. But he didn’t give up and he learned from his mistakes until, on the third try, he earned his GED.
Adonis is a remarkable young man and he’s going to do well in life. Stories like his encourage us to keep expanding the 3D ThinkLInk Initiative so we can touch the lives of more at-risk youth.
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Congratulations to Our Latest Graduates
South Carolina Youth ChalleNGe Academy: Dishon Bailey, Chris Foster, Tyler Garcia, Jaya Geter, Aaliyah Lilly, LaKristopher McCoy, Joshua Milligan, Shiann O’Shea, Jared Pearsall, Craig Shipman
Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy: Angela Bernfeld, Tyeshia Blackmond, Dylan Cooper, Ronnell Dillard, Steve James, Kyla Joyner, Darian Moore, Andrey Ortiz-Castillo, Angel Patterson
Freestate ChalleNGe Academy: Maurice Allen, Philbert Fisher, Benjamin Illioff, Johnathan Lainez, TreVaughn McBride, Maxim Pine
Here are some photo highlights of their 3D ThinkLink experience.
