Tinkerine Announces Tinkerine U Educational Pilot Program to Bring 3D Printing to Schools

Canada’s leading 3D printing company, Tinkerine Studios — which develops, manufactures, and distributes 3D printers — announced yesterday that they are launching a new educational program. The pilot program of Tinkerine U, running October 29-January 31, will bring together educators, administrators, and students in a bid to increase the STEM/STEAM initiative in school settings — though the program is intended for learners of all ages.

“We are excited to announce phase 1 of the Tinkerine U launch, our school pilot, which is a result of months of preparation,” said Tinkerine U Managing Director Kevin Brandt. “We believe that teachers and students of all abilities and interests, from elementary school to high school, can incorporate 3D printing into their teaching and learning. To support them, we created a complete suite of lesson plans and three dimensional model files. Our goal is to familiarize teachers with the process and practice of 3D printing, enabling them to bring the newest technology into their classroom in both a meaningful and authentic way to engage their students in active learning.”

Tinkerine U is geared toward forwarding the STEAM — science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics — curriculum. The initiative is meant to work with both traditional classroom settings and web-based learning, and isn’t limited to school-age students: “Tinkerine U is also for novices, DIYers, experts, business professionals, and anyone wanting to learn more about 3D printing. Our intent is to run lectures, workshops, and special events on an ongoing basis and become the place the world goes to for 3D printing education.”

Tinkerine’s CEO, Eugene Suyu, said, “Our vision for Tinkerine U reaches beyond schools and is comprised of three core components; Academia – providing tools required for teachers to utilize 3D printers in learning environments, Technicians – providing the knowledge on how to maintain and operate our machines, and Learners – to create a large collaborative community of knowledge contributors, design entrepreneurs, fuelled by creativity and innovation or the next killer 3D printing application.”

The program is set to involve more than 250 members of the educational world — with an emphasis on world. Participants will hail from the US, Europe, and Asia, as well as eight school districts in British Columbia and Canada. The lesson plans will be created by teachers, in line with government-approved educational mandates, to spread the word of 3D printing.

Tinkerine U’s mission is to give educators the tools they need to offer students the best of 21st century skills. By focusing on project-based learning, the initiative strives to truly involve participants with a hands-on approach. With 3D printers, students are able to not only design, but actually produce real objects — students are often best inspired by tangible results, and holding their own creations in their hands sure seems like a strong incentive.

Educators can register at Tinkerine U’s website. For more information, check out this video introducing Tinkerine U:

What do you think about Tinkerine U? Will it help inspire students in a hands-on environment? Is the STEM/STEAM curriculum the way of the future? Tell us your thoughts in the Tinkerine U discussion board on the 3DPB.com forum.