Engineering Design Process with Merge Cube Object Viewer

Students in room 402 are buzzing with excitement as they present inventions for the Georiga Tech InVenture Competition.

Tasked with creating inventions that would help solve modern-day problems, Mrs. Hunt's students began to anticipate the possibilities of gadgets they could make. The Dog Chip, Grocery Backpack, Dog Washer and Eco Drone were just a few of the creative problem-solving inventions. Carrying groceries hands-free is made easy by the Grocery Backpack, which effortlessly carries dozens of bags on hooks and incorporates a tarp for rainy days. Eco-Drone, a drone programmed to pick up waste, promises a litter-free world. Count me in!

Preliminary models were instrumental in bringing these visions to life. Tinkercad fueled students' imagination as their ideas evolved into tangible models using Merge's Object Viewer App, which creates virtual holograms that students can hold in their hands. This allowed students to look at their designs and make changes before finalizing them.

"With Merge my invention jumped off the screen.  It brought realness to my project."  

 --Panter ES Venture Student

Merge's Object Viewer turns objects into 3D models without a 3D printer.  The future is bright for these Panter Elementary School students as they go to compete in Georiga Tech InVenture Competition.

Special thank you to:
Karyn Hunt, Panter ES Venture Teacher
Debbie Kelly, Paulding County School District, Gifted Coordinator
Tara Cole, Paulding County School District, Gifted Lead Teacher

Merge AR Bringing MakerSpace Creations to Life

Twas the week before Thanksgiving when all thro' the school, not a person was stirring, not even a child.  Ms. Gray's students were nestled all snug in their desks as visions of turkeys danced in their heads.  Not just ordinary turkeys, but ones that had life, thanks to Merge's AR and Tinkercad's variety of shapes.  In this video, as one can see, Tinkercad students build with glee.  As unique as the students themselves, the one-of-a-kind Tinkercad turkeys filled the design cloud.

Engineering Design process is pivotal in Ms. Gray's STEM class. Students build models of turkeys via Tinkercad.  Merge's AR Object Viewer app brought each prototype to life (see image below)  as turkeys were held, twisted, and turned students lent an examining eye.  Questions abound.  Do they attach to the base?  Is each turkey up to design specifications? Are they too big?  Time to go back and improve.  The beauty of Merge Cube's Object Viewer app?  It acts as a 3D printer print preview.  Who doesn't love a helpful print preview?  Another benefit of the app is its capability to act as an augmented reality project preview for schools that don't have access to 3D printers.

A special thank you to Ms. Alicia Gray, STEM Teacher, Paulding County School District for sharing her lesson. Follow Ms. Gray on Twitter and Instagram @stemdaywithgray