Kiki Han
There appears to be an emerging trend within the 3D printing space, a trend which will hopefully lead to smarter, more tech savvy children. Over the last few months, we have been covering MakerBot’s gradual rollout of creative, educational and fun 3D printable designs within their MakerBot Digital Store. They have been relying heavily on trademarked brands such as Sesame Street, UglyDoll, and others to appeal more towards children.
This weekend, another New York City-based 3D printer manufacturer, Solidoodle has followed suit. They have announced a partnership with KiKi Han, author of Cuties Alphabellies, an educational children’s book with colorful, creative characters. Cuties Alphabellies is a 40-page book featuring each letter of the alphabet, making learning the ABC’s, and associating those letters to actual objects, fun and exciting.
Immediately available, via the Solidoodle website, are downloadable 3D printable models of Cutie, the main character from the books, as well as tiles featuring the Alphabellies.
“Solidoodle’s printers and downloadable characters provide children and their parents the opportunity to build from the ground up, educational alphabet themed learning toys based off the Alphabelly Animals,” says author KiKi Han. “We hope they pique an exploratory interest in the design process when they are printing their very own learning
tools.”
The designs are available through a Creative Commons 3.0 License, and certainly make for a fun way to get the children involved in the 3D fabrication process, teaching them about printing, while also providing an amazing tool, in conjunction with KiKi Han’s book, to get an early start on learning.
“This generation is going to do things that we never would have believed to be possible, so we are excited to be able to start that journey by bringing one of their favorite books to life in a way that is both fun and educational,” stated Sam Cervantes, CEO of Solidoodle.
Cuties Alphabellies, the book, will be available for purchase at Geekykiki.com for $17.95 this fall. Let us know if you have downloaded any of the free designs and printed them out. What was the reaction of your children? Discuss in the Cuties Alphabellies 3D printable character forum thread on 3DPB.com.
